At the IFOY Award Night 2023, in Dortmund, six companies received one of the coveted intralogistics awards. Agilox, Crown, DS Automation, Hunic and Still each receive one of the awards, while Jungheinrich wins in two categories.
In 2023, 21 companies with 23 products and solutions were finalists in the eleventh round of the award – more than ever before. “The jury made one of its toughest decisions. Already during the IFOY Test Days, the outstanding level of this year’s finalists was evident, some of whom are streets ahead of their competitors on the market in terms of innovation and customer benefits. Their products and solutions will be the future benchmark for modern distribution centres,” says Anita Würmser, Executive Chairwoman of the IFOY jury.
The IFOY Award in the category Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV/AMR) was won by Agilox with the Agilox ODM. The omnidirectional dolly mover is a smart logistics robot for small load carriers. Thanks to X-Swarm Technology, the floor dolly solution autonomously finds the fastest route through the production or logistics environment. Among other things, the jury highlighted the autonomous functions for avoiding obstacles on the route very positively.
The winner in the category Warehouse Truck highlifter was Crown with the SP 1500 order picking truck, which scores points for performance, efficiency and ergonomics. The IFOY Innovation Check emphasises the “unique ergonomics with very many configuration options developed from studies directly at customers’ premises”. It also highlights “the use in different aisle widths, a unique individually adjustable operation as well as the excellent field of vision”.
In the Intralogistics Software category, DS Automation took home a trophy for its ARCOS vehicle software. The IT makes it possible for the first time to have AGV and AMR fleets drive variably zone-based between fixed lane guidance, lane guidance with flexible avoidance as well as free navigation with a single flexible vehicle software (plannable autonomy). According to the jury, in combination with cooperative navigation, which enables the robots to take coordinated evasive action, the manufacturer offers a very efficient solution that can also integrate vehicles from other manufacturers via the VDA 5050 interface.
Jungheinrich won two awards, one in the Special of the Year category, with its addedVIEW fork camera. The fully digital fork camera with barcode scanning reduces storage and retrieval errors. It prevents incorrectly recorded goods or storage locations in the Warehouse Management System (WMS) and thus unplanned search times, returns or loss of goods. The camera reads barcodes directly at the storage location, compares them with the specifications of the WMS and marks correct and incorrect compartments in colour as the vehicle passes. Acknowledgement is made at the steering wheel. Although the individual technologies are not new in themselves, “the combination in this exemplary implementation is to be regarded as highly innovative”, according to the jury’s verdict.
Jungheinrich also secured the win in the Intralogistics Robot category and took home a trophy for the PowerCube. In this automated compact tote storage system, access is possible from below, allowing for easier maintenance and variable ceiling heights.
The jury highlighted several innovations, including the tote loading weight of 50 kilograms and a quick-charge function for round-the-clock operation of the robots without downtime.
STILL won one of the awards for the EXH 16 in the Warehouse Truck lowlifter category. The truck is part of the EXH 14-20 Plus series – hand-guided lowlifters. The special design of the tiller head enables intuitive operation for every operator. Several innovations, which are small in themselves, bring great progress when combined. The compact truck is very powerful, fast and quiet. It is also easy to recharge between uses thanks to the Li-Ion technology.
A total of five young companies competed for an award in the Start-up of the Year category this year. In the close race, Hunic convinced the jurors in the end with the SoftExo Lift. The passive exoskeleton is an extremely lightweight yet effective lifting and carrying aid. Skilled workers are supported by up to 21 percent when lifting and carrying loads. The body is relieved of up to 50 percent. In addition, incorrect movements are pointed out to the user. According to the jurors, the great innovative leap lies in the design of the exoskeleton exclusively from elastic materials.
The IFOY Award honours the most innovative intralogistics products and solutions of the year. The basis of the decision is the three-stage audit – consisting of the IFOY test protocol comprising around 80 criteria, the scientific IFOY Innovation Check and the jury test. The decisive factor is that the nominees are not compared with each other, but with their competitor devices on the market.
Tags:
Agilox, Crown, DS Automation, Hunic, IFOY, IFOY Award, IFOY Award 2023, IFOY Awards, Intralogistics, Jungheinrich, Still
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