UT01 - SOTO introduction

Overview

Until now, pro­duc­tion logis­tics have been car­ried out almost exclu­sively man­u­ally. Dri­ver­less trans­port sys­tems have dri­ven automa­tion for­ward. SOTO goes one step fur­ther and brings mate­ri­als directly to the assem­bly line, just-in-time and at dif­fer­ent heights directly to the tar­get com­part­ment — com­pletely autonomously. The ini­tial setup is user-friendly and can be set up largely independently.

SOTO works up to 20 hours per day and enables processes that are not only more effi­cient but also sig­nif­i­cantly more cost-effec­tive. Its oper­a­tion is delib­er­ately sim­ple and enables par­al­lel oper­a­tion with humans. The hard­ware is extremely robust and designed for max­i­mum reli­a­bil­ity.

Mate­r­ial flow automa­tion with SOTO not only adapts to the envi­ron­ment, but also to increas­ing demand. New robots can be inte­grated directly without major effort.

SOTO delivers a complete intralogistics solution. The SOTO fleet closes the gap between automated small parts warehouses and an automated production line.

With its high intelligence, SOTO is able to perform complex transport tasks independently, reacting to changes in the environment and changing demand. It can completely replace tugger trains or also cooperate with them in a meaningful way.

Each SOTO picks and transports goods packed in standardised small load carrier boxes between flow racks and automated small parts warehouses.

SOTO typically transports between 20 to 45 load carriers per hour in a standard operating environment, ensuring timely and precise delivery of materials to the required locations.

In an industrial manufacturing setting, the supply process involving SOTO could look as follows:

Automated small parts warehouse

SOTO picks up boxes directly from the con­veyor of the automated small parts warehouse. The trans­port order for this comes from the ERP sys­tem. Empty boxes can be returned the same way.

Supermarkets

SOTO takes over the trans­port from ware­house to buffer supermarkets and all the way to the pro­duc­tion line.

Super­mar­kets are com­mon in indus­trial mate­r­ial sup­ply process in order to reduce response times.

Production Line

SOTO deliv­ers boxes directly into the flow racks at the pro­duc­tion line. The right mate­r­ial, at the right time, in the right place. Fully auto­matic and continuous.

Empty boxes are picked up and returned to the automated small parts warehouse.

SOTO

To operate SOTO successfully, the robot, the transported objects, and the physical environment used for operations must all be compatible.

Relevant technical data of SOTO and environmental requirements for successful robot integration:

Robot data

Load carrier transport

SOTO supports small load carriers according to VDA 4500 (R-KLT, RL-KLT) and comparable small load carriers.

Space

More detailed corridor requirements can be found in the SOTO datasheet.

Corridors must be kept free at every height. In particular, shelf adapters must be considered when measuring corridor width.

Floor

Additional floor properties according to DIN 18202 – Industrial floors.

Operating Conditions

Components

SOTO is built in a modular fashion, with each component designed to fulfill a specific, independent task.

There are five major components:

Drivebase

The omnidirectional drive enables precise manoeuvering even in the most restricted spaces.

With 3D cameras at the front and rear and a localization laser scanner at the top, the robot can navigate independently and react to changes in the environment.

Backpack

SOTO can temporarily store multiple objects in the vehicle and transport them between source and sink.The backpack arrangement can be configured according to customer specifications for a maximised utilization level on every tour.

The backback is double-deep - meaning more than one identical box can be stored behind each other in every slot. Boxes can be retrieved with a tilting mechnism.

Gripper

The conveyor band gripper can move in height as well as deliver and pick up load carriers in all four directions - frontal, lateral left and right, and backwards into the backpack. Equipped with a range of sensors the gripper can detect the stored boxes and even compensate misalignments.

The gripped load carriers can be held in a press mechanism in the upper area of the robot while the gripper rotates underneath it, in order to change the orientation of the load carrier within the robot.

Safety

Cer­ti­fied safety laser scan­ners at the front and rear enable SOTO to nav­i­gate freely at up to 1.5 m/s. They also guar­an­tee safe oper­a­tion in par­al­lel to peo­ple and other vehi­cles.

Depend­ing on how close an obsta­cle comes, SOTO automatically reduces its speed until it stops or looks for an alter­na­tive route.

SOTO Display

If human interaction is required, touch displays show the relevant information and enable intuitive operation by employees directly on the robot.

Summary

Summed up, the key features of SOTO are:

Flexible handover height from 400 mm up to 1700 mm depending on load carrier height

Minimum required aisle width of 1650 mm and a maximum speed of 1.5 m/s with natural navigation

Operation time of 8 hours on one charge, Li-Ion battery (lithium-iron-phosphate battery)

The backpack carries 8 to 24 load carriers and can be configured based on customer requirements

Handling of standard load carrier sizes (300x200 mm, 400x300 mm, 600x400 mm) on three sides of robot and into the backpack

Maximum load carrier weight of up to 20 kg with a total payload of up to 240 kg