The German forklift manufacture Linde Material Handling announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with a French robotics company to begin developing a new line of robotic industrial trucks.
Linde — which is headquartered in Aschaffenburg, Germany– will work with the robitics firm Balyo to build a new line of self-driving vehicles under the umbrella of “Linde Robotics”, according to a Linde news release released last week.
More Companies Want Robotic Vehicles
The agreement comes in response to an increased demand for automated industrial trucks, both in Europe and elsewhere, said Christopher Lautray, Linde’s chief sales officer.
“Our aim is to extend our range of automation solutions to offer our customers solutions having different levels of complexity,” Lautray said. “With Balyo, we were able to persuade the technology leader in robotics for material handling equipment to cooperate exclusively with us so that we can now combines the best of both worlds.”
Linde unveiled the first products it developed jointly with Balyo at last month’s LogiMAT trade show in Stuttgart. But that those are only going to be the tip of the iceberg.
“Our plan is to integrate Balyo’s innovative technology into most of our products step by step, whilst utilizing synergies in production and sales at the same time,” said Lautray. “At the LogiMAT trade show, we presented the first jointly developed products, with more to follow soon.”
A German-French Alliance
For Balyo — which has its headquarters in Moissy-Cramayel, France — joining forces with Linde offered the robotics firm the opportunity to expand its customer base, according to Fabien Bardinet, the company’s CEO.
“Linde MH is the European market leader in industrial trucks, offering great product knowledge and densely knit consulting and service network,” Bardinet said. “For us, Balyo is the ideal partner to create the most advanced automated trucks to serve best out mutual customers. At Balyo, we produce a unique driving system for materials handling. Together with Linde MH, we offer tailored solutions to help our customers optimize their in-house material flows and achieve major cost savings.”
Robots that Can ‘See’ and ‘Think’
Unlike earlier generation automated guided vehicles, the new Linde/Balyo trucks don’t rely on laser reflectors, tracks built into the floor, or on magnets to navigate their way through warehouses and manufacturing facility. These high tech AGVs use embedded autonomous laser-assisted technology that can “see” the walls, racks and columns as they move across the floor.
This simplifies the installation process. First, the warehouse where the vehicles will be used is mapped. That map is then converted into a two-dimensional image which is downloaded into the AGV’s “brain”.
The warehouse routes are then defined and the robot missions are assigned. Using lasers, a computer, and the digitized map, the AGV can then move around the facility on its own in real time without human direction.
The robots are also programmed to automatically stop if an unexpected object gets in its way, then restart after the obstacle has been removed and the route is clear again.