With the LoadRunner autonomous high-speed vehicle, the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML has established a new generation of automated guided vehicles with distributed intelligent vehicle coordination. It has now been licensed by the Kion Group.

"With its artificial intelligence, the LoadRunner will become the blueprint for the intralogistics industry on the way to a real-time networked, digital platform economy. The vehicle swarms combine the capabilities of high-performance sorting and conveyor technology with the potential of autonomous AI-based systems. The launch of the joint Enterprise Lab with the Kion Group impressively underlines the disruptive potential of this technology," emphasizes Prof. Michael ten Hompel, Managing Director of the Fraunhofer IML.

In the Enterprise Lab at the Fraunhofer IML in Dortmund, eight employees from both partners will work together on the further development of the LoadRunner technology. The lab is designed to run for at least three years. The common goal is the industrialization and optimization of AI-based swarm technology from the sensor to the superimposed platform.

Currently, a LoadRunner can move highly dynamically at up to 10 m/s in a swarm. If required, several vehicles and up to four passive trailers can be magnetically coupled together to transport large and bulky parts. With its dynamics and omnidirectional chassis, the LoadRunner is particularly suitable for sorting and distribution processes. The load is transferred without additional actuators solely by means of inertia when the vehicle brakes. The individual LoadRunner can transport and sort loads weighing up to around 30 kg on its own. It can therefore also be used for transporting and sorting luggage at airports, for example.

The technical data of the LoadRunner prototype at a glance:

• Omnidirectional chassis
• 4 direct drives, 14.4 kW power, no gearbox
• Maximum speed 10 m/s (theoretical maximum speed: 25 m/s)
• Acceleration up to 5 m/s²
• Payload: approx. 30 kg
• Camera for localization (400 images per second)
• Load securing through highly dynamic alignment based on the acceleration vector