iGoEasy– intuitive materials handling with ease

STILL presents simple automating system for series-produced trucks with iPad for material handling solutions

STILL iGo – is the name under which STILL from now on combines its broad portfolio of automated solutions. The leading supplier for customised intralogistics solutions worldwide took this step to make its product range even more transparent to the customer. Parallel with the introduction of the new name, STILL also presents a new system which is unique on the market: iGoEasy is a system that can be intuitively operated, installed and adapted with an iPad.

iGoEasy – a system that can be intuitively operated, installed and adapted with an iPad
Photo by Still GmbH

With the presentation of iGoEasy the traditional, Hamburg based company once again proves that its reputation of being a specialist for automated solutions is well deserved. The iGoEasy concept was designed for applications that involve low transport volumes where handling goods with a manually operated pallet truck was the only sensible solution in the past.

This innovative system consists of an automated EGV-S 14/20 pedestrian high lift stacker, reflectors, an on-board computer and an iPad, iPad mini or iPod touch which is used as a control unit. For the first time this enables users to automate simple transport tasks completely independently without needing help from any kind of expert with a special training. With this new system STILL sets new standards in terms of easy and intuitive materials handling.

One ideal application of iGoEasy is, for example, provision and retrieval of material to and from production. In this type of solution a single truck can be deployed on routes covering up to 100 m distance for repetitive horizontal transport up to a lift height of 800 mm … a type of application that is often found in small an medium-sized production facilities.

STILL iGo – automated intralogistics solutions
Photo by Still GmbH

Commissioning of the system is a very simple and straight forward task. It starts with the “Teach-In” process: To enable the truck to determine its current position and navigate independently through the warehouse, reflectors are installed and their individual positions defined in the system. To do this, the pedestrian high lift stacker is manually moved through the respective area in the warehouse while a sensor at the stacker calibrates the reflectors position. Then the individual sources and destinations are defined, i.e. the places at which goods are either stacked or destacked: To do this, the operator moves the truck a second time through the warehouse and at all relevant positions picks a pallet, captures the position and confirms it on the iPad. This way up to eight different stations can be defined. Additional reference points such as cross roads can also be defined with a simple finger tip on the iPad. During this phase the truck constantly records its position. Later the operator can define the actual routes along these travel ways. To complete the process the source-destination relationships need to be defined, i.e. the operator must indicate from which source goods are to be moved to which destination. Based on these waypoints the iGoEasy-iPad application will then autonomously calculate and display the best travelling route. The operator only needs to check and confirm the result of the calculation.

After the Teach-In process and the planning of the routes, the automated solution is ready for service. Travel jobs are entered into the system directly at the work station with a finger tip on the respective button on the mobile terminal. From the terminal the transport jobs are directly transmitted to the truck via wireless LAN. The combinations of sources and destinations can be either flexible or fixed: If one source is only allocated to one destination, a single touch of the screen is enough to set the fully automated transport in motion. If several destinations are allocated to one source, orders are assigned fast and easy by “drag and drop”. During operation the screen of the iPad shows the complete route, the orders and the cockpit of the truck as well as a live image of the truck itself. Also, the application transmits all route and configuration data to the control software in the truck. This then enables the automated standard truck to operate independently.

The customer benefit of this new system is obvious: with the iGoEasy system, customers can profit from the benefits that automated solutions from STILL offer in systems with low transport volume and only one truck in operation. Besides this, damage caused by force, e.g. on racks is avoided by the exact navigation of the truck and the material always arrives at the destination without damage after a steady and careful transport. In combination with the comparably low maintenance and repair costs the investment and operation costs are effectively reduced as well. Because STILL, as opposed to other manufacturers of driverless transport systems, automates its standard trucks, all automated solutions provided by the expert for intralogistics are fit for dual operation. This means that the truck can still be manually operated without restrictions. This provides the customer with great flexibility to quickly adapt to changing work requirements.

All of these aspects make automating with the STILL iGoEASY system not only extraordinarily user-friendly but also unique to the market.

For further information visit: www.still.de

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