Autonomous Solutions Inc launches robotic unmanned yard truck solution
Autonomous Solutions Inc has launched an unmanned yard truck solution. The system is basically an industrial robotic arm on the back of a driverless truck. (See video below.)
The technology combines the expertise of four companies:
- Autonomous Solutions Inc, which specialises in vehicle automation;
- Phantom Auto, a provider of remote communication software for unmanned vehicles;
- Fanuc America, a manufacturer of industrial robots, CNC systems, and factory automation products and services; and
- Terberg, a truck manufacturer.
ASI’s Mobis software gives operators real-time awareness and control of a fleet of unmanned trucks, each of which is driven by ASI’s proven autonomous vehicle technology.
Phantom Auto’s remote communication layer provides a reliable link between the Mobius software and the trucks over any network, enabling monitoring, tele-assistance, and tele-driving.
The Mobius application gets orders from an operator or management system, plans a path for a truck to pick up and drop off a trailer, and sends the plan to the truck.
The Terberg yard truck, with automation-ready drive-by-wire electronic controls, is driven by ASI software to the trailer or dock.
There, a Fanuc robotic arm uses proprietary technology to connect or disconnect the pneumatic brake line to the trailer, making this “a truly end-to-end solution”, according to the companies.
ASI says that, by making high-quality, real-time control possible across broad geographic coverage areas, the unmanned yard truck solution increases customers’ vehicle operational efficiency and operational design domains.
The features of the solution include:
- vehicle-agnostic, so customers can work with their existing fleet and preferred yard truck brand;
- hardware-agnostic and easy to integrate, so that customers can use the solution without overhauling their vehicle hardware architecture; and
- requires no modifications to trailers in order to obtain air line connections.
Mel Torrie, founder and CEO of ASI, says: “With both Phantom and ASI’s technology combined into one product, we believe we have the most scalable end-to-end solution in the market, enabling our yard truck customers to get out of a sandbox environment and into actual deployments.”
Shai Magzimof, founder and CEO of Phantom Auto, says: “Phantom is excited to partner with one of the top autonomy providers to continue deploying unmanned vehicles across the logistics market.”
Elliot Katz, co-founder of Phantom Auto, says: “With our yard truck solution, we are proving once again that autonomy combined with remote operation can get unmanned vehicles deployed today.”