Description

The software ecosystem SYNA.OS is an innovative solution for orchestrating factories and logistics centers using artificial intelligence and the latest cloud technology. The starting point is the optimisation of intralogistics processes. Here the product SYNA.OS LOGISTICS controls autonomous mobile robots (AMR). Besides its modules for traffic management, energy management and map management, the system is especially distinguished by effective route optimisation and adaptive online scheduling. By using the standardised interface of the VDMA & VDA (VDA 5050) customers can control different transport systems from different manufacturers via just one central software without having to purchase a large number of manufacturer control centers.
Currently the company is working on the integration of manually operated vehicles, such as forklifts, into the system. In this way, the provider is extending the range of applications in intralogistics to manual fleets, mixed fleets and autonomous fleets.

With this software, the provider increases system transparency and creates additional value through continuous use of data for planning and optimization of processes in intralogistics. The system enables the quantum leap into the data and AI-driven, highly automated logistics and production of the future.

Innovations

For the new product SYNAOS applys a new and innovative planning approach – a continuous real-time optimisation of intralogistics. Today, millions of real-time data are lost in factories and logistics centers because they are aggregated into KPIs with the aim of transparency. SYNAOS breaks with this paradigm and controls continuously and autonomously on the basis of real-time data. The algorithms identify and evaluate more than 250,000 solutions per second and select the best one in each case. As soon as a relevant event occurs, for example a machine fails, a new optimum is immediately sought. Thus the company constantly adapts the plan to the reality on the shop floor. By using machine learning, the manufacturer can predict required travel times very well depending on the system status. In this way, the company increases the utilisation of resources, lowers the number of required vehicles and reduces delays.

In addition, the use of cloud technology leads to a new level of system scalability. At the same time, the effort required for roll-out projects is significantly reduced.
Finally, the company uses the new standardized interface 5050 of VDMA & VDA for the communication of the software with the mobile robots. In contrast to the solutions of competitors, SYNA.OS LOGISTICS is developed hardware-independently by design from the scratch and thus really enables the joint use of mobile robots from different manufacturers.

Market relevance

The potential market for the solution for mobile robots is already extraordinarily attractive today and is growing at a very high speed. According to a current study by IFR in cooperation with VDMA, 114,000 mobile robots will be sold for use in logistics in 2020, with an annual growth rate of 40 percent. Driven by innovations, for example in the automotive industry, the number of mobile robots in use and the size of fleets is growing in almost all industries. This results in strongly increasing demands on fleet management, which can only be met by modern software.

The product increases the flexibility of the customers of SYNAOS to react to changes in the business environment and consequently in processes, for example by the possibility to adapt the fleet size quickly and easily as well as the possibility to change driving courses themselves.

SYNA.OS is initially focusing on the automotive and logistics industries with their high-performance intralogistics and large fleets of mobile robots. However, due to its high scalability and a planned product expansion for the integration of manned vehicles, such as forklifts, our system is also ideally suited for smaller fleets and a step-by-step automation of intralogistics. With the Operating System SYNAOS can accompany customers on their way to highly efficient, autonomous intralogistics.

Customer benefits

A continuous intelligent optimisation leads to an increase in resource utilisation and an increase in process efficiency. By using innovative AI algorithms the costumer achieves significant effects here. For example, the number of required vehicles and thus the investment in hardware can be reduced by up to 20 percent or the number of delayed orders can be reduced by up to 60 percent.

Another major advantage for customers is that the company relies on modern IT technology and software architecture. New hardware can be integrated in the shortest possible time. In addition, a standardised interface to the hardware (VDMA & VDA) is in use, so that customers can control different transport systems from different manufacturers using a single system. The costly purchase and complicated operation of manufacturer-specific systems is completely eliminated. In addition, SYNA.OS Logistics is scalable in terms of the number of vehicles and the number of driving courses, so that future expansions of the fleet size can be realized easily. Many of today’s systems reach their limits at fleet sizes of 40-80 vehicles. SYNA.OS LOGISTICS is designed for fleet sizes up to more than 1,000 vehicles. Even spontaneous adjustments of the fleet size are easily possible, for example to react to peaks in demand. Modern user interfaces enables the user to work with the system intuitively and effectively.