materialfluss PRODUCT OF THE YEAR 2021 - Ident technology category

1st place: Linde Safety Guard: Door Control
The second application from the Aschaffenburg-based company (see Industrial trucks section!) is an intelligent access authorization system for forklifts and doors. Fork meets door - that can be tedious and expensive! Thanks to the warning function provided by the SafetyGuard's ultra-wideband radio signals, Linde MH has been able to develop a new module within the SafetyGuard product group. The door control is synchronized with the speed of the approaching forklift truck, and the door opens and closes precisely. Example: If the forklift truck approaches the door and reaches the yellow zone, the forklift speed is reduced to 6 km/h. At the same time, a query is sent to DoorGuard. At the same time, a query is sent to Door Control as to whether the forklift truck is allowed to drive through. If the forklift continues towards the door and reaches the red zone, an opening impulse is sent to the door if it is authorized and the door opens. If there is no authorization, the forklift truck is reduced to 2 km/h and a warning is issued. As soon as the door has been passed, the truck can accelerate to 6 km/h.

2nd place: Faubel - Electronic displays in intralogistics
Transport and storage boxes can be reused, but paper labels cannot. Faubel has developed e-paper displays to label these boxes flexibly and durably. Data and processes can be visualized using RFID technology and e-paper displays. Faubel says it offers the complete package for this: hardware, software development and system integration. The Faubel-Logistics Label is an e-paper display with a rewritable RFID tag and works without a battery. The energy for the data change is supplied by the RFID field of the reader. Readers can be stationary, mobile or NFC smartphones. The Faubel-Logistics label is maintenance-free. The housing is attached to the boxes by screwing, gluing, inserting or using Velcro. This allows it to be removed before the boxes are cleaned or used for another box.

3rd place: Nimmsta - Nimmsta HS 50 backhand scanner
According to the manufacturer, the Nimmsta HS 50 is the world's first backhand scanner with a touch display that enables hands-free scanning. At 45g, the HS 50 is, according to the company, the lightest and smallest back-of-hand scanner and captures 1D, 2D, postal and DOT barcodes up to four meters away. The freely configurable touch display shows all relevant data for the scanning process and inputs and confirmations can be made. The scanning process is activated with the thumb via the release button or directly via the touch display. Both hands remain free thanks to the Velcro fastening on the back of the hand. Thanks to the features and performance of the HS 50, the error rate is reduced by 35 percent and processes can be carried out more quickly. Overall, this leads to an increase in efficiency of up to 40 percent with an ROI of 28 days, the company promises.

In 2020, the reader award materialfluss PRODUCT OF THE YEAR celebrated its premiere, you can find the winners and best placed here.