PREVIEW

BMW has introduced this bizarre-looking autonomous vehicle at its Regensburg plant.
The driverless platform truck, with its electric drive train, will handle the internal transport of press tools and steel blanks for the press lines autonomously, with a payload of up to 55 tonnes.
Using state-of-the-art sensor technology, the transport system navigates accurately and fully autonomously through the production facilities of the Regensburg press plant at a speed of four kilometres per hour – without a driver. The vehicle is one of a kind and the first in full use anywhere in the world.
“We see tremendous potential in the rollout of autonomous logistics solutions. The emission-free electric vehicle will allow us to make manufacturing processes at our press plant even more efficient and more flexible, as well as reducing transport journeys and lead times. This will not only boost productivity, but also save energy and improve occupational safety for our employees,” says Tobias Müller, press plant maintenance manager at BMW Group Plant Regensburg.
The new driverless transport vehicle uses Innovative LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) technology from manufacturer Pefra.
“LiDAR sensors are a key technology for autonomous driving and automated processes,” explains Müller.
In conjunction with cameras and radar sensors, they monitor their surroundings, aiding in orientation, obstacle detection, and distance measurement, delivering enhanced safety and efficiency in a complex environment – whether on busy roads or in automated industrial settings, like at the BMW Group’s press plant in Regensburg. The 3D LiDAR process involves scanning the surroundings, using numerous individual optical distance measurements that are then combined to generate a 3D image ("scatter plot") of the environment captured by the LiDAR sensor.
The press plant at BMW Group Plant Regensburg processes about 1,100 tonnes of steel every workday, equivalent to a daily output of 131,000 pressed parts.