German technology company Continental has developed autonomous transport vehicles to accelerate the efficiency of its production.

According to a company release, the company deployed in-house constructed autonomous Automated Guided Vehicles (aAGV) in the production of brake systems that can transport heavy loads of over a ton.

These aAGVs are getting tested at Continental locations in Zvolen (Slovakia) and Frankfurt am Main (Germany). The first robotic vehicles in the development stage are now test-driving autonomously there between start and destination, transporting material for brake production.

This in-house development was made possible by a technology transfer from the passenger car sector.

"The expertise from automotive-grade environmental sensors such as radar, camera, ultrasonic, and Lidar, as well as sensor fusion and the environment model, was a key component in the development of the aAGV", Continental underlined.

The objective is for the aAGV to be available worldwide as a basic technology for use in production at Continental.

“Increasing efficiency in production is an important contribution to long-term competitiveness,” says Alexander Schmitt, Head of the Actuation & Future Products segment in the Hydraulic Brake Systems business unit of the Autonomous Mobility and Safety business area.

He further added, “For that reason, we decided to use the aAGV for heavy loads to develop a solution that helps us to shape our processes more flexibly and efficiently. With our own expertise combined with competent partner technologies, we’re developing an industrial solution that optimizes our production sequences and is also an attractive business idea.”

Continental said that it aims to optimize the entire value chain using digitized processes and data flows with high transparency and predictability, short throughput times, low inventories, and high flexibility.