Description

The Filics Unit is a new, compact type of AMR (Autonomous Mobile Robot) for the horizontal movement of Euro-pallets and similar load carriers in the intralogistics sector. It consists of two versatile and modular robots that are wirelessly connected and work together in pairs to transform the flow of goods in warehouses, production sites, and cross-docking hubs. The robots of the Filics Unit are designed to fit precisely into one of the open slots underneath a Euro-pallet, allowing them to “disappear” under the pallet. This compact design reduces the space required for transport, eliminates the need for shunting, and enables the Filics Unit to drive through Euro-pallets – a key unique selling point (USP) of this AMR.

The Filics Unit can automate standard ground-based A-to-B pallet transports within warehouses and production sites and is especially suited for bringing automation to very narrow environments. Beyond simple A-to-B transports, this USP opens up a wide variety of use cases, such as highly condensed ground block storage. In the future, it is also aimed to leverage this USP to enable automated single-motion cross-docking and fully autonomous, parallelized truck loading and unloading within 5 minutes (compared to the current average of 45 to 60 minutes).

Innovations

The core of the innovation lies in the unique, compact form factor of the Filics Unit described above. While others have attempted to develop double-skid systems, none have successfully reached market entry. Today, there are only two predominant types of AMRs for pallet movement: Underride-AMRs and Fork-AMRs. Underride-AMRs are cost-effective but inflexible, as they can only pick up from and drop off to pre-installed racks. Fork-AMRs can replicate many functions of manual pallet jacks or pallet trucks, offering greater movement flexibility and slight space savings, but they also inherit most of their limitations. They automate without fundamentally improving the flow of goods and are often too costly for large-scale rollouts. Ultimately, both AMR types are limited to relatively simple A-to-B transports. In contrast, the Filics Unit provides logistics operators with a range of new options to automate their pallet movements in intralogistics more effectively.

Another innovative aspect of the Filics Unit is its modular robot design, which allows for low-effort maintenance with submodules that can be easily replaced within minutes. Combined with the compactness of the modules, this opens up new possibilities for efficient servicing via remote support and parcel delivery.
In summary, the design of the Filics Unit sets it apart in the AMR market as a unique, one-of-a-kind solution.

Market relevance

As logistics operators face increasing performance pressure and a continually shrinking pool of logistics workers, automation solutions are becoming highly relevant in the intralogistics market across nearly all sectors and industries that handle physical goods. In 2021, the European AMR market had a volume of 885 million USD and is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 23 %, reaching over 3.7 billion USD by 2028. (statista)

The Filics solution is particularly relevant to this market for three key reasons. First, it enables automation of processes that are not (efficiently) automatable with current solutions, thus broadening the spectrum of ground-based automation. Second, the Filics Unit allows for the automation of process chains that, for example, involve pallet buffers or require pallet sequencing. Currently, it is challenging to integrate Underride- or Fork-AMRs into these processes because manual work is still needed before or after the AMRs’ transport job. In most cases, splitting transport processes into automated and manual sections with handover points adds more time, space, and costs than the AMR solution saves. Finally, the Filics Unit concept has the potential to automate truck loading and unloading processes with unmatched speed and flexibility. This enables Filics to leverage one of the scarcest resources in logistics: truck drivers.

Customer benefits

The Filics Unit enables logistics operators with an inclination towards automation to rethink their horizontal pallet processes in the context of automation. With Filics, tight brownfield environments can be automated for the first time, and labor-intensive hand pallet truck processes in similarly confined spaces can be streamlined and automated. The previously mentioned capability of the Filics Unit to automate ground block storage allows for space savings of up to 66 %, while still enabling direct access to each pallet.