Yale unveils dual-mode pantograph robotic forklift truck

At ProMat 2019, Yale showed its industry-first dual-mode pantograph robotic lift truck.

The truck is capable of autonomously depositing and retrieving loads from locations as high as 30 feet and reaching into double-deep storage.

The high-lifting capability of the reach/forklift truck makes it suited for distribution centres facing pressure to maximise vertical storage space, says the company.

The JBT-intelligent robotic reach truck uses a combination of sensors and 3D cameras for higher-level storage locations, making it capable of exceeding the productivity of operator-driven trucks, claims the firm.

Mick McCormick, Vice President, Robotics and Automation, Yale Materials Handling Corporation, said: “The robotic reach truck’s ability to go as high as 30 feet opens up a wide range of new tasks for automation.”

The truck is the first model to come to market through Yale collaborating with JBT.

It is the first such model available in North America and joins Yale’s Dual-Mode robotic lift truck lineup.

This includes robotic tow tractor, end rider and counterbalanced stacker models, which use infrastructure-free navigation technology.

They use existing structural features like walls, pillars or racking for navigation.

When necessary, operators can switch Dual-Mode Yale robotic lift trucks to manual mode to handle excess volume or other unexpected demands.