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Premiere of the Dematic Multishuttle Move in Offenbach

12.07.2010

Swarms of autonomous AGVs replace traditional conveying technology

Dematic and Fraunhofer IML present the future of intralogistics. On the occasion of the opening of the new Offenbach Dematic Customer and Technology Center, Dematic and the Fraunhofer IML presented a new generation of automated vehicle, the Multishuttle Move, to the public for the very first time. In future, this development should render classic conveying technology and S/R shuttles redundant.

In functional terms, the Multishuttle Move covers both storage and intralogistics transport processes. Unlike other systems currently available, it does not require separate conveying technology. Deploying as a swarm of autonomous vehicles, the Multishuttle Move can operate independently in, or link, various rack aisles and levels, or in warehouse sectors such as storage or picking. The vehicles move freely about the warehouse and can travel virtually everywhere: under shelving units, in picking aisles, in goods receiving or goods shipping operations. They head directly for their destinations and no longer need to follow rigidly linear routes. This, according to the suppliers, means that reductions in distances traveled are in the double-digit percentage range.

The vehicles are based on the components shared with Dematic shelf operating Multishuttle I which, in 2004, was awarded the VDI Innovation Prize. Entirely new are the processes for localizing the shuttles and how they communicate among themselves; also new are the energy concept and management. Using agent-based software, the vehicles operate autonomously together with the lift and coordinate among themselves. Consequently, the overall system is capable of adapting its capacities to seasonal or daily fluctuations, as well as changing order article structures and customer profiles. Capacities can be shifted as needed between the storage and transport process, and the individual sub-systems.

System performance is scalable via the number of vehicles, which creates a high level of redundancy and hence, very high system availability. Later extensions or layout changes are achieved at minimal cost because the shuttles independently modify their travel routes, thereby adapting to changing conditions. These are features that unquestionably satisfy the demands of trade and industry for greater flexibility in the field of intralogistics. As such, the days when it was still cheaper to tear down a complete material flow system rather than modify it for a new application could very well become a thing of the past.

Whereas the Multishuttle I achieved acceptance in buffer and consolidation storage environments, e.g. in the food products industry with its high performance criteria, the Multishuttle Move has been conceived for sectors such as the surgical products or hardware industries needing substantial storage capacities and operating in the medium performance range. In future, swarms of Multishuttle Move are expected to replace conventional shuttle and conveying technology solutions, bringing the goods directly to their destinations.

Says Prof. Dr. Michael ten Hompel, Managing Director of the Dortmund Fraunhofer-Institut for Material Flow and Logistics IML and, in a manner of speaking, the father of cellular intralogistics, "The Multishuttle Move is far more than just a new vehicle generation; for many applications it represents a completely new intralogistics solution. According to Uwe Geissinger, CEO Dematic Central Europe, "The classic mid-range performance technologies now face a new challenge because systems using the Multishuttle Move are more flexible, scalable and, given their superior energy efficiency, above all more economical".

Specifically for the Multishuttle swarms that are designed to conquer the intralogistics markets of the future, the term »Cellular Intralogistics« has been coined. It is intended to express the concept of how the individual Multishuttles interact like the cells within an organic system.

In this challenging and groundbreaking project, the Fraunhofer IML, the world’s leading logistics institute and Dematic, one of the leading providers of intralogistics solutions joined forces. In the same way as its predecessor model, the fundamental technology of the Multishuttle Move originates with the Fraunhofer IML, with Dematic assuming responsibility for implementing the components. Also belonging to the international team of experts involved in this development was Dr. Marco Dorigo, the Italian mathematician and inventor of the so-called »Ant Colony Algorithm«, who will help to transfer the »Swarm Intelligence« method to Cellular Intralogistics.

The overall system will be subjected to its first major practical trials at the Fraunhofer IML in Dortmund at the end of this year. There, the most extensive testing of artificial intelligence that has ever been undertaken in the logistics sector will start. In a dedicated 1000 m2 and 65 meter-long test bay, built specifically for the purpose, a "swarm" of 50 Multishuttle Move units will attempt all the applications normally catered for by classic materials flow technology. The trials are intended to prove that cellular intralogistics is capable of replacing both classic conveying technology and shuttles in an economical and ecologically acceptable manner.

Multishuttle Move – Facts and Figures

Useful load capacity up to 40 kg
Own weight 134kg
Length: 1135 mm
Width: 706 mm
Height: 350 mm
Running time without recharging: up to 2.5 hours

Press Contact Dematic

Dematic GmbH
Carl-Legien-Straße 15
63033 Offenbach/Germany

Mareike Buska
Phone: +49 69 89 03 -1260
Fax: +49 69 89 03 -1840
E-Mail: mareike.buska@dematic.com