An autonomous transport robot that complies with all safety requirements, ensures an interruption-free material flow, optimizes internal logistics processes, lowers operating costs and works in outdoor areas? Thanks to the close collaboration with SICK, this vision of the future is already an integral part of the Innok Robotics' portfolio.

An ambitious goal

Whether it be construction sites, cemeteries, industry or intralogistics –anywhere that goods and materials are transported, there's one thing that really counts: efficiency. In 2012, a start-up was founded in the Bavarian municipality of Regenstauf that declared exactly this efficiency as its primary goal. The company's area of specialization: independently-acting vehicles based on modular hardware and software as well as 2D and 3D sensor technologies. Innok Robotics has since become one of the leading developers and manufacturers of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and automated guided vehicle systems (AGVs) and offers innovative, tailor-made solutions and state-of-the-art technology to support companies in automating and optimizing their transport processes.

Efficiency means a lot more than just cost savings and reliable transport, however. To comprehensively optimize processes, aspects such as different ambient conditions, the safety of employees, the complexity of integration, and ensuring reliable operation even in poor weather conditions must also be taken into consideration. Innok Robotics therefore faced more than just a single challenge when developing the INDUROS transport robot.

A transport robot for all situations

The new robot for indoor and outdoor applications needed to not only ensure smooth transport processes but also detect obstacles early and thereby minimize the risk of accidents. In automating and optimizing the processes, Innok Robotics sought not only to lower the operating costs but also seamlessly integrate the safety systems. To enable quick operational readiness, the commissioning process had to be simple. The company also strove for flexibility and adaptability in order to dispense with additional infrastructure such as induction loops and markers. This required a high level of reliability even in changeable weather conditions –for safe operation regardless of rain, snow, dust or wet conditions.

Innok Robotics had already developed the hardware and software for the INDUROS. What they were still lacking was suitable sensor technologies for safety and environment perception both in indoor and outdoor areas. When searching for a suitable solution, SICK was the only partner in the end that could meet all the requirements.

Good reasons for SICK

With the multiScan100 3D LiDAR sensor, Dynamic Weather Assist, airWiper and outdoorScan3 as the main components, SICK delivers suitable solutions for the various challenges associated with increasing the safety of the staff, and for weather-independent navigation and localization. Furthermore, all components offer the possibility of seamless integration.

But this is not the only thing that convinced Innok Robotics to collaborate with SICK. The comprehensive application advice and the tests under real conditions in the Outdoor Technology Center in Buchholz were decisive factors in the decision because the insights gained from them were able to be incorporated directly into the further development work –a crucial competitive advantage.

Alwin Heerklotz, CEO of Innok Robotics, confirms: “The partnership with SICK was crucial in the development of the INDUROS. Thanks to the advanced sensor solutions, which only became possible through the extensive testing capabilities in the Outdoor Technology Center in Buchholz, we were able to create a solution that worked reliably even under extreme conditions. This collaboration helped us to realize our vision of flexible and rugged transport robots.”

Safe navigation in any weather

The outdoorScan3, which delivers the required data for all-round safe navigation, was installed in front of the wheels in the bottom area of the housing of the INDUROS. Its intelligent algorithms in conjunction with the safeHDDM® scanning technology ensure the desired reliability even under unfavorable or changing weather conditions.

Directly above it is the airWiper which, as part of the Innok RainGuard system, removes water droplets or dust on the optics cover using compressed air and so ensures the high availability of the outdoorScan3. In addition to this, the Dynamic Weather Assist function block enables the protective fields to be automatically adjusted for the current ambient conditions. This ensures even strong rain or snowfall will not adversely affect the continuous operation because the robot will simply reduce its speed rather than come to an unplanned stop.

To further minimize the risk of accidents, the INDUROS was also equipped with an additional SICK safety controller and sensors. The DFS60S incremental encoder delivers fundamental information on the direction of travel and speed of the autonomous transport robot while the multiScan100 3D LiDAR sensor provides precise measurement data for localization and navigation in demanding, dynamic environments as well as for the detection of objects and people. Based on this data, the outdoorScan3 safety laser scanner automatically switches the protective field for different driving situations. This enables the INDUROS to optionally actively drive around an obstacle and then return to its actual route. The Flexi Soft software-programmable safety controller, which is installed directly under the hood of the robot, also allows continuously viewable and transparent condition monitoring.

On a realistic test stand in the test center at SICK

Even the best theory is useless if it is found to be infeasible. The Outdoor Technology Center at SICK therefore provided Innok Robotics with the opportunity to test the INDUROS under real but also controlled conditions. To comprehensively test the capabilities and reliability of the INDUROS, not only numerous environments and scenarios but also use under different real-world weather conditions was tested or simulated as realistically as possible. This confirmed the unrestricted functionality in rain, snow, dust and wet conditions. The INDUROS proved its multi-terrain suitability by navigating over gravel, uneven ground and ramps, and in complex courses demonstrated its ability to detect obstacles early and navigate safely.

Marcus Ichters, Key Account Manager Mobile Platforms: “The close collaboration with Innok Robotics and the testing capabilities in our Outdoor Technology Center in Buchholz differentiate us from the usual way companies work with their customers and gives us a clear competitive advantage. This not only strengthens trust but also the long-term partnership that enables us to jointly drive and develop innovations.”

A partnership with potential

Thanks to the close and innovative collaboration with SICK, Innok Robotics has brought to market an ultra-modern, flexible and weather-independent transport solution that is already being successfully used by its customers. The INDUROS ensures efficient and safe transport processes in wind and weather, which leads to a significant increase in operational efficiency.

Heerklotz summarizes: “The implementation of the INDUROS transport robot has revolutionized the internal processes of our customers. They are particularly impressed with the flexibility of the system, which requires no additional infrastructure and can be seamlessly integrated into existing processes. The collaboration with our partner SICK clearly demonstrates how innovative technologies can significantly boost efficiency and safety.”

Michael Badeja, Strategic Product Manager at SICK also recognizes the great potential of the partnership: “The collaboration with Innok Robotics provides the foundation for promising solutions for outdoor areas. We can only accommodate the stringent requirements on outdoor applications by working in a customer-centric manner and delivering true innovations in automation.”

Further innovations are already well underway: SICK and Innok Robotics are working on integrating a safety-oriented variant of the multiScan100-S into the INDUROS. By recording reliable and safe 3D measurement data in outdoor areas, the robot is expected to be able to move about risk-free even at high speeds.

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