However, development continues. A standardized data format for the uniform exchange of route information is about to be published. There are also in-house developments such as navigation with plannable autonomy and communication between vehicles.

Driverless transport systems and mobile robotics are developing more dynamically than almost any other area of industrial automation. Whereas just a few years ago, the market was dominated by a small number of suppliers, such vehicles and systems now fill entire halls at trade fairs. In addition, suppliers of large, automated warehouse and conveyor technology systems have integrated them into their own systems as a flexible addition. Traditional automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) are on offer. Some of these can coordinate with each other if necessary and offer more freedom in route selection thanks to their autonomy. On the other hand, coordinating the vehicles via a central control system makes them much more efficient.

Standardization creates provider independence

"Customers don't want to be tied to one supplier by proprietary, completely closed systems," says Dipl.-Ing. Lukas Schwarz, Head of Vehicle Basic Software Development at DS Automotion. "They want to have a choice of vehicles so that they can use the optimum device for each individual application." This is why a standardized interface was created with the VDA5050, which enables vehicles from different manufacturers to operate under a common control system and also interact with each other. This allows users to tender the control system and the vehicles separately.

"In addition to an interface description, VDA5050 is a recommendation," explains the mechatronics graduate engineer, who is helping to drive standardization as a member of the core team of the VDA5050 working group of the German Engineering Federation (VDMA). "It represents a platform on which all system and vehicle manufacturers as well as users can build."

The part of VDA5050 that regulates the driving of vehicles is very fully mapped. This is not only evident in the annual mesh-ups that have been carried out since 2021, in which vehicles from different manufacturers operate within shared overall systems. "There are already systems with control systems from other manufacturers in which our vehicles run smoothly," reports Lukas Schwarz from the field. "Conversely, systems with our Navios control system are currently being implemented in which third-party vehicles will also operate." The VDA5050 has therefore already established itself as a standard. This has also led to a further increase in the range of products on offer. In addition to additional vehicle manufacturers without the ambition to offer a control system, pure manufacturers of AGV control systems are entering the market.

Many hurdles overcome

The road there was not always straight. Technical hurdles were the exception rather than the rule. The need for coordination mostly arose from differences in communication and interpretation between established manufacturers and newcomers to the market. This is why, despite the standard, there are still differences in the way in which guidance systems provide vehicles with the details of the route and how vehicles expect them.

Nevertheless, the open, loose interface today offers the possibility of integrating all types of vehicles into an overall system. This ranges from physically track-bound to freely navigating and autonomous vehicles. "Several processes and formats are implemented in many DS Automotion vehicles," emphasizes Lukas Schwarz. "This makes them suitable for operation under third-party control systems and in many cases they are also certified."

VDA5050 regulates manufacturer-independent, uniform communication between control systems and vehicles. It is therefore an established standard today, compliance with which is explicitly required in tenders. Nevertheless, it still leaves some areas largely open. One area where standardization efforts are still ongoing is the format for exchanging route data. With the Layout Interchange Format (LIF), every AGV master control system should be able to easily import the route layout of an AGV system. The VDMA has its own working group for the LIF.

Standardized format for driving course layouts

"Route planning is the responsibility of the vehicle manufacturers," says Christoph Pramberger, M.Sc., Head of the Control Technology Development team for new projects at DS Automotion. "LIF is about creating a standardized, manufacturer-independent format for mapping a driving course layout." The LIF file contains information about all lanes within an area, such as a hall or a floor, as well as restrictions such as maximum widths or speed limits.

The LIF file is imported by the master control system and extended with additional information to fulfill the master control system tasks such as traffic control, routing and similar. This information is used to communicate with the vehicles via VDA5050. LIF is another important milestone on the way to full interoperability between control systems and vehicles from different manufacturers. LIF is scheduled for release in the second half of 2023.

Load handling is also standardized as part of VDA5050. It represents an essential part of the standard, for example by enabling load transfer between vehicles from different manufacturers. However, only the actions are defined within VDA5050. The actual processes behind them must be defined on a project-specific basis. The current standardization efforts are focused on the possibility of exchanging maps between vehicles, for example with contour maps for localization with laser navigation, with natural landmarks or via specially attached landmarks for exact load transfer.

Plannable autonomy

Robots increasingly have to work in dynamically changing environments. DS Automotion is responding to this with the option of defining zones in the Navios guidance control system as an alternative to linear paths, within which autonomously navigating vehicles can find the exact route independently.

The Arcos vehicle software not only enables the fully autonomous avoidance of unexpected obstacles within user-defined limits, but also the interaction of several AMRs in free space. This so-called plannable autonomy combines the reliability and efficiency of the centrally controlled system with the flexibility of autonomously navigating vehicles. DS Automotion received the IFOY Award 2023 for this ground-breaking technology, which is still a unique selling point of the Austrian premium manufacturer, which has been producing driverless transport systems (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robotics exclusively since 1984.

This article appeared in issue 10/23