The software makes all the difference in AGV systems from DS AUTOMOTION

Photo by PeterKemptnerMachtMarketing® GmbH

Driverless transport systems and their autonomous guided vehicles (AGV) are getting more and more important in-house transport tasks because they have a flexible reaction to changed requirements. They are able to close the gap in the chain of automated processes depending on the capability of the AGV control system and communicate with other systems while ensuring maximum productivity as well as optimal time optimal worker safety. Based on task-oriented concepts, the DS NAVIOS AGV control software from DS AUTOMOTION covers the entire variety of requirements.

As early as 1984, DS AUTOMOTION GmbH started supplying AGV systems using different system approaches to production and healthcare facilities. Whether purpose-built custom vehicles or automated standard handling equipment: In track-guided systems, the vehicles follow magnetic stripes or induction loops, acting as workpiece or platform carriers in flow production and facilitating flexibility gains in assembly processes. In classic intralogistics applications, mainly AGVs using free navigation are used. They verify the route they are pursuing using guiding aids such as floor-recessed magnets, laser reflectors or contour-based navigation with SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) technology.

Supplying AGV systems of various sizes and complexities to customers around the globe, the Austrian company serves the most diverse demands and requirements and ranks among the world’s leading manufacturers. It owes this market position not least to its DS NAVIOS AGV family of control systems. It calculates more than routes for the vehicles that often come in large numbers and several types within a system. It also takes care of communication and interaction with surrounding systems such as permanent conveyor installations or production cells. DS NAVIOS constitutes the intelligence behind DS AUTOMOTION’s flexible AGV solutions. Its high efficiency limits the number of vehicles required.

Controlling track-guided and free-navigation AGVs

Track-guided systems are usually deeply integrated with the production plant; its vehicle movements mainly follow the flow or cycle schemes of the production workstations. The TrackGuide control system kernel used to create track-guided AGV systems within DS NAVIOS is based on PLC technology. Programming uses the same Siemens TIA Portal software development environment that is also in use for production automation. This de-facto standard not only in the German Automotive industry, track-guided DS AUTOMOTION AGV systems can seamlessly be integrated with their operators’ overall automation processes.

FreeGuide is the AGV traffic management system for DS AUTOMOTION free navigation AGVs. It communicates with MES and ERP systems, using order, material, and machinery information to create driving jobs for the individual vehicles. It also communicates directly with other parts of the production facility, for instance, to summon an elevator or to enter a safe production cell through a light curtain without causing an access violation. Continuous position and condition monitoring of all vehicles facilitate undisturbed operations.

“Not least due to the nearly unlimited capabilities of the DS NAVIOS management and control system to solve transportation tasks of any complexity, DS AUTOMOTION AGVs are standard equipment in production and health facilities alike”, says Arthur Kornmüller, Managing Director of DS AUTOMOTION.

For more information, please visit www.ds-automotion.com

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