AGV+BELLA is a research and development project aimed at developing a new AGV for the needs of internal logistics in the white goods production, designed to drive up and down the ramp and equipped with an advanced navigation.
In September 2017, TPV through the project AGV + BELLA responded to an invitation to tender »INCENTIVES FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS 2« called by the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology. The tender is co-financed by the Republic of Slovenia and the European Union under the European Regional Development Fund. The project which was launched in February 2018 involves the companies IKU d.o.o. and Gorenje d.d. The total value of the project is estimated at EUR 1,798 million. The duration of the project is estimated to 2 years.
The purpose of the project is to develop a new generation of automated guided vehicles (AGV) demonstrating smart intralogistics solutions implemented in the white goods manufacturing. The project consists of developing a new AGV used for automation of internal logistics in factories of the future. The vehicle is called AGV POWER+. As the project aims at developing a more efficient vehicle, able to drive up a bigger ramp, we developed a multi-wheel drive vehicle. Furthermore, the vehicle featured a better energy efficiency thanks to a newly designed power unit. In addition to the existing navigation and magnetic tape guidance, we developed a natural feature navigation. The project objectives are fully realized: i) the new AGV vehicle is capable of driving on a path with an inclination of up to 8.8% (5 °) and ii) the new vehicle has the ability to combine navigation and guidance without physical guides, which allows it to automatically avoid obstacles on the way.
As part of the project, we also developed and implemented a test and demonstration platform to analyse, simulate, optimize and test the existing and newly developed solutions in a real, controlled environment using the example of internal logistics in the white goods production in the Gorenje company. This type of solutions have been developed until now in the automotive industry, but within this project, the know-how and experience were transferred to the white goods industry.
The acronym AGV+BELLA covers the whole purpose of the project: »AGV« (development of a new automated guided vehicle), »+« (additional functionality and connectivity), »BELA« (a test platform in the white goods production), and the other »L« (logistics).
The investment is co-financed by the Republic of Slovenia and the European Union under the European Regional Development Fund.
Contact:
Igor Lekše, MSc, Project Manager
[email protected]
