Linde: Intelligent transport robot optimises flow of goods in the warehouse

With the autonomous mobile transport robot Linde C-MATIC HP and the cloud platform AnyFleet, the goods handling specialist Linde Material Handling (MH) is expanding its portfolio with two essential core products from the Munich-based company idealworks. The intelligent underride module of the autonomous mobile robot (AMR) navigates freely in space, actively avoids obstacles, communicates via the internet and can be used at a wide variety of locations in the warehouse. The first pilot projects with the vehicle are currently being launched.

The world of intralogistics is becoming more diverse. Increasingly, it is automated solutions that help companies to make their internal flow of goods even more efficient. The focus is on application scenarios in which not only individual but networked transport tasks are performed by automated or autonomous vehicles. These sophisticated fleet solutions require vehicles that can act quickly and safely on their own, in real time and in interaction with other vehicles and people.

“With the Linde C-MATIC HP, we offer our customers an autonomous mobile transport robot that can receive driving orders in different ways. It is also capable of skilfully avoiding both temporary and permanent obstacles, making it perfectly suited for mixed operation with manual industrial trucks,” says Stefan Prokosch, Senior Vice President Brand Management Linde MH. The autonomous robot is of interest to customers who want to consistently automate their transport logistics and rely on modern, intelligent automation solutions, for example in industry or the beverage sector. “We are working closely here with our partner idealworks – an innovative portfolio provider in the field of automation who developed the transport robot known as iw.hub and is also responsible for its production,” adds Prokosch.

The maximum load capacity of the Linde C-MATIC HP (HP for High Performance) is one tonne, and the maximum speed is 2.2 metres per second. With a height of only 222 millimetres, the vehicles are also very flat and make it easier to drive under and pick up pallets or transport racks with wheels. Navigation is based on SLAM technology using a pre-read map of the warehouse and the camera and scanner installed on the vehicle. Additional markers, magnets or QR codes are not required. Another component of the solution, in addition to the vehicle and the trolleys, is the charging station.

“Other vehicles, objects and people pose a particular challenge in mixed operation. Suddenly appearing obstacles can lead to interruptions in the material flow, which add up and cause noticeable delays in the subsequent processes,” Prokosch describes. The Linde C-MATIC HP detects the obstacles via the Safety Scanner and calculates an alternative route at short notice based on the detected object. This saves time and ensures predictable workflows. Another significant improvement in workflows is achieved by the flexible load pick-up. This allows the transport robot to pick up loads that are not exactly at right angles to the lane, but are slightly displaced. In this case, the Linde C-MATIC HP aligns itself accordingly before moving under the goods carrier.

The cloud-based AnyFleet control software ensures fast and cost-effective implementation of the devices. Here, the vehicles can be set up and zones and rules of conduct defined using dialogues and a graphical editor. There is no need for complex programming, which significantly simplifies both the initial setup and subsequent changes. Another advantage: the cloud platform supports the VDA 5050 interface standard, which makes it easy to combine the Linde C-MATIC HP with other vehicles.

For more information, please visit: https://www.linde-mh.com/en/