Old production machinery has to be replaced due to changed requirements. However, high weight and limited space in plants often make it very difficult to assemble and disassemble big machines or to reposition them. Frequently, this is done by hand using heavy-duty rollers. FORMIC Transportsysteme, a spinoff of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), has developed a semi-automatic transportation system for the replacement of production plants, which works like a swarm.
“Our system consists of several separately driven vehicles. Together, they can lift a weight of up to 40 tons and move it semi-automatically,” says Dr. Maximilian Hochstein from KIT’s Institute for Materials Handling and Logistics (IFL). For the transportation of heavy loads, up to 15 vehicles can be coupled. “They are connected by radio and equipped with cameras for self-coordination and synchronous acting,” Hochstein says.
Video “Swarm solution for load transportation” (in German):
Footage “Swarm solution for load transportation“ (without insertions)
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Joystick Control
“Machines and goods of various dimensions and weights can be lifted comfortably by a single person and moved remotely,” says Dr. Benedikt Klee from KIT’s wbk Institute of Production Science. Although joystick control works manually, commands are then obeyed automatically. “The load is lifted from the ground and then moved flexibly,” Klee says. “For transporting a typical production machine in manufacturing industries, three vehicles are sufficient.”
Triple Innovation: Concept, Mechanics, and Software
Tommi Kivelä, IFL, points out that the innovations consist in the swarm concept, the mechanics of the individual vehicles, and the control software. Theoretically, more than 15 vehicles may be connected to transport even heavier loads. “However, the swarm size is still limited by safety control.”
The founders of FORMIC consider their potential customers to be movers of facilities and machines and companies offering internal plant layout changes and machine transports. They also address manufacturers of big machine tools, as the vehicles enable continuous production of heaviest machines.
FORMIC is supported by an EXIST startup grant, a funding program of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection to fund startups from science, and by the KIT Founders Forge.
Being “The Research University in the Helmholtz Association”, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 10,000 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 22,800 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence.