TEST CAMP INTRALOGISTICS: Further functions of the VDA 5050 in live testing

Manufacturers of automated guided vehicles will show new functionalities.

The next important step towards Industry 4.0: Following the world premiere of the first live test of the VDA 5050 communication interface in the so-called AGV Mesh-Up during TEST CAMP INTRALOGISTICS 2021, a new edition of the test scenario will take place at Messe Dortmund. B2B trade visitors can observe the functions of Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) for themselves from March 21 to 23 and exchange ideas with developers and scientists. The initiator of the event is once again the VDMA Materials Handling and Intralogistics Association with its member companies. "There are now a number of industrial applications using VDA 5050, and at this year’s AGV Mesh-Up we will be showing the current state of development of the communication interface," explains Andreas Scherb, who heads the Automated Guided Vehicles department in the VDMA Materials Handling and Intralogistics Association.

According to the association, not only will some new manufacturers be involved in the AGV MeshUp, but extended functionalities of the communication interface will also be presented. "We don’t want to reveal too much at this stage. But one thing is certain: it will once again be an exciting  scenario; and trade visitors will be able to follow more interactions than last year," emphasises Dr. Wolfgang Hackenberg, CEO of SYNAOS GmbH. The VDMA member is providing the guidance

system for this year’s AGV Mesh-Up. The aim of VDA 5050 is for automated transport vehicles in the warehouse, i.e. tugger trains, AGVs or autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), to communicate via plug-and-play technology independently of manufacturer and system. For the vehicles, this means in concrete terms: they drive with different types of navigation (for example, line-guided or contour-based), but communicate with the higher-level control system in a common data language.

At the test premiere in 2021, six vehicles from different suppliers drove under one control system via the VDA 5050. The name AGV Mesh-Up is based on a mesh WLAN, in which different components interlock and are seen as a unified WLAN. The practical test was seen as an important milestone for industry on the way to Industry 4.0. For months, representatives of AGV manufacturers and users had exchanged views on the topic of higher-level control systems in production and logistics under the coordination of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) and the VDMA Materials Handling and Intralogistics Association before the first live test was launched in 2021.

On the topic of VDA 5050, a prominent panel discussion will be held for the first time during the AGV Mesh-Up to discuss the status quo and the future of the communication interface. The session on March 23 at 10 a.m. will be moderated by Jan Drömer, CIO of ek robotics. Dr. Wolfgang Hackenberg, CEO of SYNAOS, and Mathias Behounek, Managing Director of SAFELOG, will be on the podium. Dr Christian Reinema, Head of Logistics Planning Assembly at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, and Alexander Balandin, Head of Mobile Robots, Global Business Services at Robert Bosch, will contribute the user perspective to the discussion. Further information on the AGV Mesh-Up and the participants you find at https://www.vdma.org/….

The AGV Mesh-Up is embedded in the TEST CAMP INTRALOGISTICS, which takes place parallel to the IFOY TEST DAYS in March. Under the motto "Spot on Innovation and Business", the test event with IFOY finalists, IFOY partners and internationally renowned manufacturers is open to a limited number of B2B trade visitors. The sustainable, innovative event format on a total area of 9,800 square metres has been extended from two to three days to offer participants more time for test drives and intensive technical discussions with company representatives. Between March 21 to 23, guests can not only take part in guided highlight tours. For the first time, there will also be panel discussions on the trend topics of innovation management, intralogistics 4.0 and the AGV MeshUp.

IFOY AWARD WWW.IFOY.ORG

The International Intralogistics and Forklift Truck of the Year (IFOY AWARD) recognises the year’s best intralogistics products and system solutions. The aim of the organisation is to document the performance capability and innovative drive of the intralogistics, helping to boost competitiveness and raise the profile of the entire sector in the public arena. The winners of the IFOY AWARD are selected once a year by an independent jury of international trade journalists. The sponsors of the IFOY AWARD are the VDMA Materials Handling and Intralogistics Sector Association and the VDMA Robotics + Automation Sector Association. IFOY partners are Messe Dortmund and the world´s leading forklift attachment manufacturer Cascade. The IFOY pallet partner is CHEP, the global market leader in pallet pooling. Logistics real estate partner is GARBE, logistics partner is LTG. Trailer partner is Fliegl Fahrzeugbau. The headquarters of the IFOY organisation are in Ismaning near Munich.

Members of the jury: Snejina Badjeva, editor-in-chief Logistika magazine (Bulgaria), Winfried Bauer, editor-in-chief f+h Fördertechnik (Germany), Cecilia Biondi, editor-in-chief Logistica Management (Italy), Rosa Maria Cheribuini, editor Il Giornale della Logistica (Italy), Charleen Clarke, editor-in-chief Focus on Transport and Logistics (South Africa), Theo Egberts, IFOY tester and owner of Buro Andersom / Andersom Testing (Netherlands, without voting rights), Reji John, editor The STAT Trade Times & The Indian Transport and Logistics News & Logistics Update Africa (India), Klaus Koch, editor-inchief LogisticsInnovation.org, Handel Heute (Switzerland), Allan Leibowitz, editor-in-chief forkliftaction.com (Australia),  Valeria Lima de Azevedo Nammur, editor-in-chief LogWeb Magazine (Brazil), Øyvind Ludt, editor-in-chief Moderne Transport (Norway), Peter MacLeod, news editor Logistics Business (Great Britain), Bernd Maienschein, specialist editor MM Logistik (Germany), Marilena Matei, editorial director Tranzit / Tranzit Logistica (Romania), Anton Mizunov, editor-inchief Skladskoj complex (Russia), Matthias Pieringer, editor-in-chief Logistik Heute (Germany), Szilvia Rapi Jaubert, publisher and editor-in-chief Supply Chain Monitor (Hungary), Matthias Rathmann, editor-in-chief trans aktuell (Germany), Isabel Rodrigo, editor-in-chief Cuadernos de Logística (Spain), Hans-Joachim Schlobach, publisher and editor-in-chief Business+Logistic (Austria), Sascha Schmel, managing director association materials handling and intralogistics in the VDMA (Germany, without voting rights), Sebastian Śliwieński, editor-in-chief Warehouse Monitor (Poland), Jarlath Sweeney, editor-in-chief Fleet transport (Ireland), Ying Xu, editor-in-chief MM Logistics in China (China). The executive chairperson of the jury is Anita Wuermser, logistics journalist and managing partner of impact media projects.

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