"This year, the jury concentrated on a few top models in the classic forklift truck and warehouse technology categories and placed a very strong focus on the warehouse of the not-so-distant future in the nominations. This is a clear statement of where the journey in intralogistics is heading; autonomization, technology,
software and holistic solutions are more important than ever right now. The final will be very exciting," says Anita Würmser, Chairwoman of the IFOY jury.

The final round includes Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV), robots, special vehicles, software and complex warehouse solutions. The companies aiming to win a trophy are arculus, Cargotec Engineering, HAI Robotics, Hänel, H+E Produktentwicklung, HHLA Sky, BMW subsidiary IDEALworks, Interroll Group, Nimmsta, OPPIDUM TIC, Still, SYNAOS, Volume Lagersysteme and WAKU Robotics.

All finalists will undergo the three-stage IFOY Audit at the international IFOY TEST DAYS from March 22 to 26 - 2021 for the first time at Messe Dortmund. In the IFOY Test, experts measure the key figures of the finalists in a standardized procedure. In the IFOY Innovation Check, scientists assess the innovative value of the nominated products and solutions. The Innovation Check is carried out by specialists from Dortmund's Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML), the Chair of Technical Logistics at the University of Dresden and the Chair of Materials Handling, Material Flow and Logistics (fml) at the
TU Munich. At the end of the IFOY TEST DAYS, jury members from Europe, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa will travel to the Ruhr region to inspect the nominated devices and test them themselves.

The jury is made up of trade journalists from logistics media in 21 countries. The criteria assessed include innovative value, technology, ergonomics and handling, safety, marketability, design and customer benefits as well as cost-effectiveness and sustainability. Important to know: The finalists are not compared with each other in their respective categories, but with their competitor devices on the market. "Only those who outperform their direct competitors in terms of innovation have a chance of winning," emphasizes Würmser.

The coveted trophies will be awarded on May 21 at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna. In cooperation with the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, the award ceremony will take place as part of the Austrian HERMES Transport.Logistics.Award gala. International guests are expected in the Hofburg's Grand Ballroom. Until then, the result will remain a secret - both for the finalists and for the public.

The finalists

With two products and solutions, the software and robotics expert arculus from Ingolstadt
has made it to the final of the IFOY Award 2021 with two products and solutions: The cross-manufacturer fleet management system arculus Fleet enables its users to operate AGVs from different manufacturers in one area via the new VDA 5050 interface, including planning and, among other things, intelligent route planning based on real-time traffic information. The company is also hoping to win an IFOY Award for its nominated AGV arculee2. The autonomous mobile robot developed for the in-house production and logistics environment with
with a load capacity of up to one ton is designed to bring autonomous driving and the efficiency of mass production
to industrial applications. The device is controlled by a robot unit that
over-the-air updates and fleet learning.

Cargotec Engineering Ireland secured a place in the final and entered the second generation of its Moffett E4-25.3NX, the world's first all-electric truck-mounted forklift. In addition to numerous safety features, the 2.5-tonne capacity truck has an all-electric three-wheel drive and is emission-free.

Intralogistics provider Hänel entered an IFOY Award with a warehouse solution and reached the final round. The warehouse technology manufacturer implemented the integration of twelve Hänel Rotomat storage lifts over two floors for MSC Technologies, a provider of embedded systems. The carousels not only connect the physical flow of goods, but are also seamlessly integrated into the SAP environment. A unique feature here is that the lift controller becomes an SAP terminal.

The HUSKi tugger train solution from H+E Product Development also made it to the final. The HUSKi can transfer goods weighing up to 1.4 tons contactlessly, automatically and autonomously, thus enabling autonomous intralogistics in the large goods sector.

Also nominated is the Integrated Drone Control Center from HHLA Sky - a subsidiary of Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA). The drone management system organizes all processes in the operation of drones and remote-controlled vehicles with a single platform and is capable of flying more than 100 drones simultaneously beyond visual range.

HAI Robotics from Shenzhen, China, is represented twice in the final round. Firstly, the jury was impressed by the brand new HAIPICK A42T, the world's first telescopic lift ACR (Autonomous Case Handling Robot). This enables intelligent "goods-to-person" picking and covers a height of up to 6.50 meters with its telescopic lift function. In addition, a warehouse solution based on the HAIPICK A42N model was nominated for the final. According to the company, the A452N is the world's first autonomous carton picking robot that enables mixed picking of cartons and totes of different sizes.
of different sizes. The manufacturer uses 3D visual recognition technology to enable the device to localize and directly access bins and cartons without codes.

A nomination for the newly founded BMW subsidiary IDEALworks shows that an automotive manufacturer does not have to hide as an intralogistics provider either. Its fully autonomous, mobile robot iw.hub is not only offered in an attractive price segment, but can also be implemented with its cloud-based control platform AnyFleet within two days without any structural adaptations - also with third-party devices based on the VDA 5050 standard.

The Interroll Group's Smart Pallet Mover (SPM) also made it to the final. This is a new, modular and mobile robot solution for the automation of pallet transport in the areas of production machines and order picking, which is designed for the transport of pallets or boxes weighing up to 1000 kilograms.

Hamburg-based intralogistics company Still is a well-known IFOY Award winner, having already secured several trophies in recent years. This year, the EXH-S 25, a low lift pallet truck with a load capacity of 2.5 tons for particularly tough and confined work areas, was nominated. It is characterized by its particularly compact dimensions and can travel at speeds of up to 14 kilometers per hour. Still received a second nomination for its Warehouse Solution. As part of its Danfoss Project, the company has developed a fully coordinated combination of three automated warehouses for Danfoss Power Electronics' new production warehouse in Tinglev, Denmark.
combination of three automated series industrial trucks and installed all system components.

The jury nominated five start-ups for the 2021 final in the "Start-up of the Year" category. Nimmsta is competing with the HS 50, the first back-of-hand scanner with a touch display that enables hands-free scanning. The LOGISTICS INTERCHAT platform from OPPIDUM TIC in Zaragoza, Spain, is designed to solve communication problems between freight forwarders and employees in loading and unloading centers and enable compliance with social distancing regulations. The software system SYNA.OS Logistics from the start-up SYNAOS from Hanover also reached the final. The solution for orchestrating factories and logistics centers with the help of artificial intelligence and cloud technologies optimizes intralogistics processes, controls
autonomous mobile robots and optimizes routes, among other things. The fourth candidate in the final round of the start-up category is Volume WAVE from Volume Lagersysteme. This product is the world's first compact, fully automated pallet shuttle warehouse with single-user access, which has a very high storage density and is positioned as an alternative to distribution centers with storage and retrieval machines as well as wide and narrow aisle warehouses. The fifth finalist is the WAKU Sense real-time analysis dashboard from WAKU Robotics, which can be used to evaluate and optimize the performance, reliability and utilization of different types of robots across different locations.

IFOY Award - Finalists 2021 at a glance

arculus
arculus Fleet
arculee2
Cargotec Engineering Ireland
Moffett E4-25.3NX
HAI Robotics
Warehouse Solution based on the HAIPICK A42N
Haipick A42T
Hänel
MSC Technologies Project
H+E Product Development
HUSKi
HHLA Sky
Integrated Drone Control Center
Idealworks
iw.hub
Interroll Group
Small Pallet Mover (SPM)
Nimmsta
HS 50
OPPIDUM TIC
Logistics Interchat
Still
Danfoss Project
EXH-S 25
SYNAOS
SNYA.OS Logistics
Volume storage systems
Volume WAVE
WAKU Robotics
WAKU Sense