Highly automated forklift that can see, think and act

It's a product born out of a company leveraging its existing expertise. ZF's Industrial Technology Division has benefited from the Group’s broad expertise in the passenger car and commercial vehicle sectors.

At last month's Hannover Messe, the technology and component major showcased the ZF Innovation Forklift, the first ever materials handling vehicle that can see, think and act. It is a fully networked electric forklift truck with highly automated driving functions equipped with camera and radar systems that enable it to see its surrounding environment.

The data that these systems generate are analysed by the ZF ProAI central computer, which is based on an artificial intelligence software that has already been proven in other innovative prototype vehicles modeled on passenger cars and tractors. Intelligent actuating elements – such as the ZF electric rear axle steering for forklift trucks – and the electric ZF single-wheel drive carry out the control unit's given commands.

The ZF Innovation Forklift capable of evasive manoeuvres due to its highly automated driving functions. It can independently drive around obstacles and comes to a stop if people are in its path.  

Bundling competencies for industrial technology megatrends
“We are already playing a leading role when it comes to highly automated and autonomous driving – and that also includes industrial technology. It is no longer just about launching outstanding solutions that offer customers major benefits on the market. It's about speed. The ZF innovation teams have proven this here in Hanover with their new products,“ says ZF CEO Wolf-Henning Scheider.

“The highly automated ZF Innovation Forklift is the result of bundled know-how to create a unique and comprehensive solution that essentially embraces the main requirements of the industry: reducing costs and making materials handling processes far more efficient.”

The ZF Innovation Forklift, which bundles digitalisation, automation, electrification and networking, paves the way toward autonomous materials handling vehicles of the future. This highly automated forklift truck completes work orders by independently going to the storage location, picking up the goods and delivering them to the customer.

Equipped with an extremely powerful electric drive and featuring a lifting capacity of up to 3.5 tons, the ZF Innovation Truck is coming well within range of the diesel-operated forklift trucks broadly used outdoors; and it generates zero emissions. ZF supplies the purely electric drive as a system solution and has streamlined the forklift truck’s energy management so that it can hold a battery charge for at least one shift. This means that operators do not have to have as many replacement batteries on hand and can therefore reduce costs considerably.

Object and pedestrian detection abilities
Intelligent object and pedestrian detection is a major safety bonus when the vehicle is in operation. The ZF Innovation Forklift sensors record people or stationary objects such as pallet cages or simply pallets. The data interpreted in the ZF ProAI central control unit results in a corresponding command that tells the vehicle to either stop or drive around the obstacle.

Deep learning algorithms help to anticipate the great variety of potential scenarios in high speed and then trigger adequate reactions. In other words, artificial intelligence can help to prevent work accidents and injury to people or material damage. The vehicle can also prioritize orders itself and thus make decisions regarding the optimal sequence and route.

An essential factor in this is how the ZF Innovation Forklift is networked. It can operate in a digitalized production network and there communicate both with the materials management system, infrastructure and other vehicles. The cloud-based, dynamic fleet management allows the data from the individual forklift trucks to be efficiently managed and analysed. The system takes into account, for example, the current battery charge status during all driving operations and schedules the recharge time at which the forklift truck should independently head toward the charging station.

Also read: BMW develops new electric personal mover concept for staffers