Spanish carmaker SEAT has become the first industrial manufacturer in Europe to deploy automated guided vehicles (AGVs) without magnetic guidance.
Developed in collaboration with ASTI Mobile Robotics and Telefónica, eight AGVs use SLAM navigation (simultaneous localisation and mapping), 4G connection and induction battery charging to automate the transport of parts outside production workshops at SEAT’s Martorell plant.
Christian Vollmer, vice-president for production and logistics, SEAT, said: “In recent years SEAT has been introducing pioneering innovations in the field of logistics and this is another example of our commitment to becoming a benchmark for Industry 4.0.
“The implementation of outdoor AGVs enables us to optimise production and logistics processes in an efficient, sustainable and connected way.”
Each outdoor AGV and their carriages make up a 25m-long convoy with a maximum transport capacity of 10 tonnes and cover routes of 3.5km (2.1 miles) in length.
Thanks to SLAM navigation, these vehicles are not guided by magnetic tape or wires. According to SEAT, this reduces maintenance costs are reduced, makes the vehicles more adaptable to new routes and means their installation does not require any construction.
Combined, the eight AGVs travel 240km (150 miles) a day. There are currently two ongoing routes between the press and metal shops on which vehicle side parts and mobile elements such as hatches and doors are delivered, a move which does away with truck transport between these facilities.
The fleet of outdoor AGVs reportedly enables a reduction of 1.5 tonnes of CO2 per year as these deliveries were previously carried out using a truck and a tractor.
And as well as making deliveries more efficient and cost-effective, the AGVs are helping to reduce stockpiling at both the starting and destination points as well as vehicle traffic inside the factory.
The new vehicles join 200 AGVs that deliver parts inside SEAT’s assembly workshops at its Martorell and Barcelona factories.
