The automatic truck, with trailers in tow, slows down when it approaches a picking station in the warehouse. The staff quickly fill the wagons with spare parts and the vehicle combination rolls away to the next stop in the route, controlled by optical sensors that receive signals from reflective tape affixed to the floor. Thanks to the tape being easy to move it is a quick job for the warehouse staff to produce a new driving schedule for the truck if necessary. This is how it looks at many warehouses where you need simple, flexible and cost-effective logistics solutions.

Sells worldwide
Helge Nyberg AB, located in Ulricehamn, specialises in trolleys and trucks for light material handling. The company started in the late 1950s and now sells to over 60 countries. Together with the SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden and Jönköping University School of Engineering it has applied for funding from Vinnova´s Forska&Väx (Research & Grow) programme to conduct a feasibility study about how one of the company´s driverless trucks can be equipped with more functions - put quite simply, to be more intelligent. The truck is sold under the Ergobjörn brand. It was launched in 2008 on the Swedish market and has recently been launched at international level.

“In concrete terms, for example, it may be the case that they can be programmed to drive different routes and that it will be possible to have several trucks operating at the same time. It also means that the risks of collision are eliminated", says Andrew Soderberg, an electronics engineer at the SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden.

He has worked with the feasibility study and has also previously had assignments from the Ulricehamn company when it comes to the safety classification of the company´s trucks.

Shortens the lead time
Andreas Mellstedt is product development manager at Helge Nyberg AB. He emphasises that the feasibility study is a way to develop strategic decision support and that no decisions about serial production have been taken. At the same time the study is a way to shorten the lead time from concept to market launch when the decisions on such matters are taken.

“Inquiries for this type of system have increased significantly during the last six months, and by doing this study, we are ready when new customer demands start to appear", says Andreas Mellstedt.

A basic requirement from Helge Nyberg AB is that the costs are kept in check - which has been a central theme in the work during the feasibility study. Being able to build trucks in a cost effective manner, despite the fact that they are equipped with more advanced technology, is probably the single most important factor for success in the market, according to Andreas Mellstedt.

“If we can produce driverless trucks at the right price, we will open up opportunities to reach completely new customer groups."

This mainly concerns smaller companies in need of smart logistics solutions but which have limited budgets.