A Concept for a retrofit solution for autonomous pallet loading by industrial trucks

Abstract

This article describes a concept for a retrofittable system that enables conventional electric-powered industrial trucks to autonomously load trailers from the rear. The retrofit system consists of an external sensor module for coarse navigation as well as short-range sensor technology and control modules that can be integrated into the vehicle. The developed concept shows that the approach of retrofitting existing industrial trucks with low investment costs allows SMEs in particular to tap into the economic potential of automated pallet loading.