Lӧdige Industries automates ULD transportation

German company Lӧdige Industries, which provides solutions to optimize, automate and manage logistics operations, announced the introduction of a new automated guided vehicle (AGV) for transportation of airfreight and ULDs.

The computer-controlled, wheeled AGV features 5-foot and 10-foot models for different ULD sizes, and the larger model is capable of lifting and transferring palletized cargo, according to a company statement. The 10-foot model can also run a full shift on a single battery charge, moves at 3 meters per second, and has a maximum capacity of 6,800 kilograms. The smaller model can carry up to 1,588 kilograms for twelve hours.

Lӧdige expects the new AGV to ease labor shortages among ground handlers, allowing handlers to free up staff for more specialized work, and to open floor space by making floor-mounted roller conveyors redundant. “The battery-powered load carrier allows operators to connect the various terminal areas in a flexible and scalable way, establishing for example an effective link between landside-based truck docks and airside-based ULD storage or other repetitive intra-terminal transfers,” the company statement said.

The smaller model is available for order currently, with the 10-foot model expected to become available during the summer of 2020.

Robotics and other advanced technologies are becoming more common in the logistics and warehousing sectors, though many automation solutions target individual picking or parcel sortation. With more startups and major logistics providers targeting automation, it is likely other AGVs and other innovations targeting palletized cargo and ULDs will enter the space in the upcoming years.