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Mobile robots: How can the potential be tapped?

The boom (or even hype?) that mobile robots are currently experiencing is huge. However, it appears that they are not yet able to fully realise their potential in intralogistics and other areas. What are the root causes? Do we need to rethink the situation? And how can automation technology help ensure that entire fleets of mobile robots will meet the industry’s expectations, both today and in the future? Experts from the Fraunhofer IML, SAFELOG and ifm provide and discuss answers to these and other questions in this issue.

 

Topics of this edition

 

  • Overview: expectations > reality? How automation technology can help to maximise the potential of mobile robots. (0:00 – 03:45)
  • Insight: How ifm’s model of four layers helps to support OEMs with both specific requirements and the development of holistic solutions. (3:45 – 11:45)
  • Application: Knapp relies on the O3R robotics platform from ifm for obstacle detection and pallet detection in its latest AGVs. (11:46 – 14:46)
  • Expert talk: Are expectations of mobile robots (still) too high today? What needs to change so that mobile robots can be used as useful support in logistics? And do we really need autonomous mobile robots? Guests: Mathias Behounek, Thomas Albrecht and Mohamed Hassoun. (14:47 – 47:23)

 

Host

Guests

Mohamed Hassoun is Vice President Global Industry Management Intralogistics & mobile Robotics at ifm electronic gmbh. His core competences include the development of new business markets as well as the national and international multiplication of existing solutions for intralogistics and mobile robotics.

As an intermediary between product management and sales, he consolidates customer requirements from the industry and transfers them to product management. By analyzing and evaluating technological trends and cooperating with institutes and universities, the topic of innovation is constantly being driven forward.

Mathias Behounek has been a member of the SAFELOG team since June 2009 and part of the management team since June 2016. As Managing Director, he is responsible for the strategic direction, product development and operational business of the company based in Markt Schwaben near Munich. Behounek believes that logistics processes should be implemented with as few technical resources as possible in order to make them efficient, safe and sustainable.

Prior to his career at SAFELOG, Behounek was a competitive snowboarder from 1994 to 2003. He took part in all the FIS World Championships between 1996 and 2003 and in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Thomas Albrecht heads the Automated Guided Vehicles division at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics in Dortmund. With over 30 years of experience in automation technology, particularly in intralogistics and automated guided vehicles (AGVs), he has extensive knowledge of drive and control technology, real-time operating systems, localisation and navigation procedures, safety technology, communication systems and control systems.

He is project manager in research and industrial projects, co-owner of several patents, supports national and international industrial partners and carries out planning and consulting projects.

He is also the author of specialist books, publishes in specialist journals, gives lectures at congresses and is a member of the VDI Technical Committee 309 AGVs.

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