Audi uses robots to move cars around its factories

We all know that car manufacturers are increasingly investing in technology to make all their operations easier and faster. This is how Audi is testing new technologies for the smart factory of the future.

At the end of the production line, its workers used to have to move each fully finished car to a storage area, and then return to the line to fetch another one. The solution they have found is a large robot that takes charge of its transport and storage.

This pilot project began last February at Audi’s plant in Ingolstadt, where two robots independently transport the cars from the production line to the storage area mentioned above, where they are then placed according to their destinations, so that logistics staff can load them into their respective train wagons.

The idea for these robots, known as “Ray”, comes from the Bavarian company Serva Transport Systems. Ray moves freely and with great flexibility. It measures six metres long by three metres wide and is equipped with sensors that allow it to determine both the position and the dimensions of a car, and to adjust itself to it.

A control software assigns a space where Ray can park the car. In this way, cars up to 5.3 metres in length can be quickly moved and temporarily stored, achieving a saving in space. When a sufficient number of cars classified for the same destination is ready, the robot moves them to their loading point for transport.

Source | Audi