Austrian firm Agilox has expanded its line of intelligent guided vehicles by introducing an autonomous omnidirectional counterbalanced forklift, operating with swarm intelligence, for applications in logistics for inbound and outbound warehousing and storage.

The firm has expanded its One range of autonomous guided forklifts with the OCF omnidirectional counterbalanced forklift.

With the One range, fleets operate without a central control system, meaning the vehicles navigate the production facility or warehouse in a truly autonomous fashion. The compact vehicles organise their routes according to the decentralised principles of swarm intelligence, making them more flexible than traditional AGVs (autonomous guided vehicles). Additionally, programming or teaching the vehicles becomes easier, while central software programmes including maintenance and updates are rendered obsolete, lowering operating costs.

While the One is equipped with a scissor lift to function as a load handling device and thus transports the load within the vehicle contour, the OCF is designed to the principles of the counterbalanced forklift. Hence, it can pick up pallets, lattice boxes and other load carriers with a maximum weight of 1500kg, transport them to the destination, and set them down at a height of up to 1600mm.

While the One vehicles are mainly used for material supply in production, the OCF enables classic intralogistics tasks in incoming and outgoing goods, order picking and storage, as well as in production, provided the transport is pallet-bound.

Just like the One, the OCF uses an omnidirectional drive concept. It can therefore also drive sideways through narrow aisles, turn on the spot and manoeuvre in tight spaces. The same lithium-ion (LiFePO₄) battery technology ensures short charging and long operating times; three minutes of charging allows for up to one hour of operating time.

The fleets can be connected to user software systems – LVR, ERP, WMS, MES and so on – via an open API. An optional IO box enables the integration of external infrastructure, such as rolling gates and stationary conveyor systems, in the intelligent control system. An analytics module provides the user with all relevant operating data and KPIs.

“The OCF is a logical addition to round out our product portfolio,” said Franz Humer, CEO of Agilox. “With it, we open up opportunities in storage and order picking technology, and thus a large market in which the IGVs [intelligent guided vehicles] can showcase their advantages over both AGVs and man-operated forklifts.”

The combined operation of the One and OCF in a swarm also provides an advantage. For instance, while the smaller vehicles carry out delivery services to assembly workstations or tend to e-Kanban shelves, the OCF can, using the same control system and wifi infrastructure, take over pallet transport. 

The OCF pilot series has already been tested in Vorchdorf, Austria. Series production will begin shortly, with the first OCFs set to be delivered to users in the first quarter of 2021.

Headquartered in Austria, Agilox was established in 2009 by a group of engineers. It has offices in 15 countries worldwide, including Atlanta, USA. All aspects are developed in-house, from mechanical design, electrical engineering, navigation and related software. This allows for faster reactions to changing requirements and customisation depending on requirements.