Optical, acoustic, haptic
The principle of assistance systems for industrial trucks is comparable to that of cars: they warn the driver visually, acoustically or haptically before or during critical driving situations. They can also intervene semi-autonomously or autonomously in the drive, control or signaling systems. For example, there are permanently installed environmental warning systems that act like a protective shield. They use high-frequency technology to monitor certain localized danger zones or a defined radius around vehicles and employees. Other safety-critical zones are transitions between indoor and outdoor areas. While people generally drive faster outside, the speed must be reduced indoors. Here, radar-based systems automatically reduce the speed at the transition and release it again in return. Safety and productivity can also be increased by so-called fleet management systems. These include restricting vehicle use to trained employees, electronic safety checklists that document the "duty to inspect before driving" and shock sensors that report improper operation of the forklift trucks. Vehicle tracking will also play an increasingly important role in the future. Mesh networks offer a very promising development approach for indoor applications. Elokon will therefore launch its first mesh-based assistance system on the market in 2018.

Market penetration - a joint project?
Despite modern technologies and the availability of products, assistance systems have not yet established themselves in intralogistics to the same extent as in the automotive industry. Why is that? Elokon is pursuing three approaches as a provider: Firstly, the industry needs concrete proof of benefits - either from the supplier itself or from studies by supplier-independent associations, cooperatives or technical associations. Secondly, industrial truck manufacturers (OEMs), employers' liability insurance associations, accreditation institutes and providers of electronic assistance systems can continuously develop the integration of electronic assistance systems into vehicle electronics through more intensive cooperation. Thirdly, the technologies used should be further improved, for example by increasing the performance of sensors, miniaturizing sensors, control units and actuators and through sensor data fusion.

Current practice is for sensors installed in the vehicle to detect an obstacle in the vehicle's surroundings. This is known as "autonomous remote localization", i.e. the vehicle detects obstacles without their assistance. The automotive industry is also increasingly using cooperative systems, often referred to as Car-2-X (X = infrastructure) or Car-2-Car, with which vehicles communicate directly with each other or with the immediate surrounding infrastructure. Crossing or turning assistants can be used to identify vehicles on a collision course. Local hazard alerts can also prevent accidents. Traffic jams can also be reduced by real-time reports of the optimum vehicle speed in the vehicle. The first product applications are also available in intralogistics, for example in predictive accident warnings between two industrial trucks that are on a collision course, or in forklift navigation using RFID.

People: always at the center with safety
In intralogistics, a key aspect of the spread of assistance systems is the human-machine interface. Distractions caused by assistance systems must be minimized, as otherwise they reduce safety rather than promoting it. The same applies to warnings from assistance systems: They should only have a minor impact on the driver and employees in the immediate vicinity. Ideally, an assistance system should be easier to operate than a car radio. Here, too, we can learn from automotive development: touchless screens rely on the familiar menu navigation and haptics of smartphones, controls are reduced or systems with intuitively understandable feedback are used.

Trends: the sum of all individual parts
In addition to the three trends of electric cars, digitalization and car sharing, there is currently one megatrend in the automotive industry: autonomous driving - the perfection of all conceivable assistance systems at a high-performance level. Current developments include dynamic environment models that enable 360° detection, intention recognition of pedestrians, cyclists and motorcycles, automatic swerving, complete lane guidance in all speed ranges and bottleneck assistants that make it easier to drive around roadworks and other road constrictions. Autonomous driving will therefore essentially depend on two factors: on the one hand, the quality of the individual components and, on the other, the correct interaction in the combination of the individual products.
Another megatrend is emerging in intralogistics: with the advent of cobots, i.e. collaborative robots that work together with humans, the requirements for assistance systems will continue to increase. The aim here is not only to secure vehicles, but also to secure robots and humans working together so that both can carry out their work with maximum safety and productivity. If robotic arms are used on industrial trucks to pick goods from the shelves, for example, assistance systems need to be adjusted even more precisely or secure greater ranges in order to allow simultaneous use with people in risk areas and a higher picking speed. By then at the latest, driving on demand and by sight will be history in intralogistics. Alexander Glasmacher