"Intelligent Guided Vehicle (IGV)
Controlled with swarm intelligence
The "ONE" is followed by the "OCF": Agilox is expanding its range of intelligent transport systems controlled by swarm intelligence to include an autonomous, omnidirectional counterbalance truck. The Austrian company is thus targeting the area of application of classic intralogistics in incoming goods, outgoing goods and warehouses.
With the ONE light industrial truck, the manufacturer had rethought the concept of AGVs: the compact vehicle moves autonomously and navigates freely in production or in the warehouse. The fleets do without a central control system. Instead, they organize their routes according to the (decentralized) principle of swarm intelligence. This makes them more flexible. In addition, programming or teaching the vehicles is simpler; central software programs, including maintenance and updates, are not required. Agilox is now expanding its range of IGVs (Intelligent Guided Vehicles) to include the OCF. This designation stands for "Omnidirectional Counterbalance Forklift". While the ONE is equipped with a scissor lift as a load handling device and thus transports the load within the vehicle contour, the OCF is designed according to the counterbalance forklift principle. It can pick up pallets or pallet cages and other load carriers with a maximum weight of 1,500 kilograms, transport them to their destination and set them down at a height of up to 1,600 millimetres.
This opens up new areas of application for the manufacturer's IGV concept. While the ONE vehicles are primarily used for material supply in production, the OCF is aimed at classic intralogistics tasks in incoming/outgoing goods, order picking and warehousing - and also in production, provided the transport there is pallet-based.
Just like the ONE, the OCF uses an omnidirectional drive concept. This means it can also drive crosswise into rack aisles, turn on the spot and maneuver in the tightest of spaces. The lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery ensures short charging times and long operating cycles. The IGV fleets can be connected to customer software systems (LVR, ERP, WMS, MES) via an API interface. An additional IO box enables the integration of external infrastructure, such as roller shutters and stationary conveyor systems, into the intelligent control system. An analytics module provides the user with all relevant operating data and KPIs.
One advantage is the mixed operation of ONE and OCF in a "swarm": the smaller vehicles can provide feeder services to assembly workstations or supply E-Kanban racks, while the OCF take over pallet transport and use the same control and WiFi infrastructure. Series production of the OCF will start shortly; the first vehicles will be delivered to customers in the first quarter of 2021.
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