The CEMA Application Guide
for Unit Handling Conveyors
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Intralogistics industries.
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been more instrumental in the
development of standards,
technical information,
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CEMA, the Voice of the Conveyor
Industry of the Americas.
A key factor in gaining wider acceptance is technology that allows robotic lift
trucks to operate without following fixed
paths defined by guide wires, magnetic
tape, magnets, or transponders embedded
in the floor. Newer guidance technologies
include methods such as lasers, image recognition, and location sensors that measure distances, map facilities, store data,
and navigate based on the forklift’s position relative to “natural features”—walls,
racks, and other objects. Depending on
the technology, minimal or no additional
infrastructure is required, so it’s easy to
reprogram travel routes.
Of the various options available today,
LIDAR (light detection and ranging),
which uses lasers to measure distances to
an object, seems to be gaining the most
traction in warehouses and DCs. “There
are others, like vision-guided systems, but
nothing seems to be taking hold as well
as LIDAR, because of its accuracy and
low cost of implementation,” says Lou
Micheletto, sales manager–robotics and
automation for Hyster Co.
In addition, the wider availability and
declining costs of sophisticated sensors
have reduced costs for the end-user.
“Before, only three-shift or four-shift
operations with very high hourly pay rates
could find justification for an automated
forklift project,” says Mick McCormick,
director, robotics and automation, for
Yale Materials Handling Corp. Now,
a wider range of operations, including
those with just a few trucks, can get a
return on their investment, he and other
advocates say.
Not everyone is jumping in yet. The
Furthermore, insights gleaned from the
new data generated by driverless forklifts
will improve decision-making. “But there
are still concerns around safety and the
capabilities provided for the cost invest-
ed,” she says. “The technology is
still new, and so there are still things
to be worked out from a usability
standpoint.”
WHERE DO THEY SHINE?
Currently, fully or semi-automat-
ed counterbalanced forklifts, nar-
row-aisle forklifts, high-reach trucks,
and high- and low-platform pallet
trucks are on the market. While
automated forklifts can be pro-
grammed to do many tasks—Linde
says its “Matic” product line covers
“80% of all handling tasks in pro-
duction and storage facilities”—they
