KAMAG

Autonomous cars and trucks are currently revolutionizing our road traffic and increasing its long-term efficiency and safety. Autonomous vehicles will also lead to greater efficiency, ecology and economy at logistics yards and internal transport in the future. For this reason, the Fraunhofer IML developed in cooperation with the manufacturer of industrial vehicles, modular transporters and vehicles for terminal logistics KAMAG Transporttechnik GmbH & Co. KG and other project partners a vehicle for the automatic and driverless transfer of swap bodies. The vehicle has to recognize the exact position of the swap body and the loading ramp at the logistics hub, in order to carry out fully automatic shunting movements. For this purpose, the Fraunhofer IML developed several software modules, which use a special outdoor 3D sensor to determine the exact position of the objects at the logistics yard. These modules enable the vehicle to automatically pick up swap bodies from buffer areas on the factory premises, park them at the loading ramp and pick them up again at the loading ramp after loading and unloading.

To gain initial experience in the use of automated logistics solutions, the vehicle was tested under real conditions at DB Schenker's Nuremberg site. This location is particularly suitable for automation because of the high volume of traffic handled: Up to 1100 swap bodies are moved there between 130 loading ramps every day. Over the next few years, the automated vehicle of KAMAG will be further developed into a product.