BEUMER Group has entered into a strategic innovation partnership with Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML. The core of the collaboration is a three-year joint “Enterprise Lab” for the development of mobile robots. Through this cooperation, intralogistics specialist BEUMER aims to significantly advance its development projects in the field of mobile robotics and secure a technological lead in automated logistics solutions.
In the “Enterprise Lab”, scientists from Fraunhofer IML are working side by side with experts from BEUMER Group to develop a scalable platform for mobile robotics (MR). The collaboration is taking place at the Fraunhofer IML in Dortmund – in the direct neighbourhood of the BEUMER site there. In addition to the expertise of the scientists involved, Fraunhofer IML is making its research infrastructure, including test areas, available for this purpose. The format of this research co-operation enables close integration of industry and science: BEUMER gains direct access to the latest research results and laboratory facilities, while Fraunhofer experts can work with their new industrial partner to bring specific developments and products to market maturity.
With five full-time positions, Fraunhofer IML will work on the joint research project with BEUMER over the next three years as part of the lab. Together with BEUMER developers, the researchers are forming a powerful team to build a robust platform for mobile robots.
“Instead of setting up an isolated island laboratory, we are using the Fraunhofer ‘Enterprise Lab’ as a tried and tested format for incorporating external cutting-edge research directly into our product development. Thus, we are enabled to significantly accelerate our mobile robotics projects and offer our customers innovative solutions even faster,” explains Volker Jungbluth, Chief Technology Officer of BEUMER Group.
“Mobile robotics perfectly complements our product and system portfolio in our core areas of ‘Conveying and Sorting’ and offers clear technological and economic advantages: flexibly scalable, space-efficient, fail-safe and powerful. Exactly these points make MR a real lever for transformation in the sortation and logistics environment.”
“We are delighted to be working with our long-standing partner to take our joint cutting-edge research with the “Enterprise Lab” to a new level. Both sides benefit and the exchange of practical experience and application-orientated research. This partnership is broadly based in the field of mobile robotics. We are ambitious to provide the basis for leap innovations in mobile robotics in this cooperation,” emphasises Prof.Alice Kirchheim, Institute Director at Fraunhofer IML.
The new platform will serve as the technological basis for various applications. The platform will rely on standardised onboard controllers, sensor technology, localisation and fleet management in order to leverage synergies and reduce development costs. The partners will draw up a clearly defined development roadmap for this purpose. This means that new technologies from the lab can be quickly transferred to pilot projects and product improvements at BEUMER – from sortation robots for parcel centres to smart baggage transporters for airports.
With the “Enterprise Lab”, BEUMER is joining a proven cooperation model of Fraunhofer IML, which has already been successfully implemented with eleven other companies. The labs enable close interaction between science and industry and are seen as a catalyst for practical innovations.
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