Use cases

Use case “Loading and unloading pallets from truck trailers”

Collaborative unloading truck


1) This calculation is model calculation. Actual numbers have to be validated on a case by case basis.
2) With two workers and two groups of robots un-/loading time can be reduced to 15 min with a performance gain of 60%.

Annual cost for unproductive idle times

  • World:
 € 419,500 bn
  • USA & Asia:
 € 196,250 bn
  • Europe:
 € 66,250 bn
  • DE & NL:
 € 13,250 bn

A pain point in warehouse operation: unproductive idle times when loading and unloading trucks

The pain in numbers for a single warehouse 1):

  • Average idle time at dock until unloading:
 60 min
  • Average time for unloading a truck:
 30 – 45 min
  • Average time for waiting and for un-/loading:
 100 min
  • Hourly cost of truck operation:
 60 €
  • Cost for single un-/loading and waiting:
 100 €
Cost for waiting and un-/loading for a warehouse with 100 operations per day: 10.000 €

Our solution: human robot collaboration better than full automation

  • A fleet of robots is commanded to the loading bay behind a docked truck trailer.
  • There, the robots line up in a stand-by position and wait for an interaction by a worker.
  • In this operation mode, the robots can be moved freely around by a user using the haptic interface and can be used like a manual pallet truck.
  • The worker grabs the next robot, moves it under the next free pallet, lifts the pallet und pulls the robot with pallet until it is clear.
  • When the worker presses the “Resume” button the robot takes over control again, autonomously moves load to storage position, and drops it there.
  • The robot returns to loading bay until the fleet management reports the completion of task.

The gain in numbers:

  • Performance gain with one worker and a group of robots 2):
 40%
  • Un-/loading time:
 25 min
  • Payoff time for collaborative solution:
  18 months

Our products

We have implemented the platform concept in a number of off-the-shelve robots. We use similar or identical component across different models of mobile robots each serving a specific task. The robots themselves can be easily scaled and adapted to the needs of customers in terms of payload,
vehicle geometry, or design.

Our robots can operate in two modes: They can either operate fully autonomously or interactively support human workers in accomplishing their tasks.

  • They operate autonomously and transport loads as long as there is no interaction with a human worker.
  • When they approach a human or an obstacle they reduce their speed AND their kinetic energy and then keep moving at a kinetic energy level, which cannot cause any harm or damage.
  • When a contact is established by a human worker for example by grasping a haptic interface the robots go in an interactive operation mode. In this mode they can be arbitrarily pushed back or moved around with a minimal amount of force.
  • On the press of a button they go back into autonomous mode and continue executing their task.
KELO products

...safer,

Our robots are inherently safe. Inherent safety means that our robots can be pushed back or aside if they get into a human's way or approach the human in an undesired way. Humans and robot can safely move side-by-side even in narrow space. This property will be indispensable for future generations of mobile service robots, which shall operate in close proximity to humans. The robots inherit this property from our KELO drives. Our drives do not have gearboxes and can be stopped and pushed back, even when they are actuated. The drives have a Caster-wheel suspension like the wheels of a shopping cart. These two properties together make our robots inherently safe. Their use will increase the safety in your facility and decrease the number of accidents.

...greener,

Our robots have a payload to weight ratio of 5:1, while comparable robots have typically a ratio of around 2:1 or even less. This means that our robots consume significantly less power since they have to move much less total weight at the same payload. Furthermore, our robots are omni-directional. They can move almost instantly in any direction and in any orientation. They can navigate more efficiently, which increase throughput and reduces time and energy consumption.

...customizable,

Our robots can be customized to a customer’s need very quickly. We have adopted a design concept, which was initially developed in the automotive industry: the platform concept. Our robots are built of a construction kit of modular, quasi standardized components. The modularity of our components together with the high configurability of our KELO drives enables us to (re-)design our robots according to a customer’s needs with limited effort and in a short period of time. Furthermore, using the same components in different robot models facilitates economy of scale and reduces cost both in development and in series production.

...more efficient!

Our robots are collaborative. They can interact with human workers and support them in the execution of their task. It is a meanwhile widely adopted insight that full automation in many industrial contexts is a dead end and that teams consisting of humans and robots can reduce idle times and increase efficiency to a significant extent. (see white paper World Economic Forum 2020). A prerequisite is that humans and robots can interact smoothly and intuitively. Our robots have this ability. As a matter of fact our robots can improve the efficiency of your operations by 40% or more.

...safer,

Our robots are inherently safe. They can be pushed back or aside if they get into a human's way or approach the human in an undesired way. Humans and robot can safely move side-by-side even in narrow space. This property will be indispensable for future generations of mobile service robots, which shall operate in close proximity to humans. The robots inherit this property from our KELO drives. Our drives do not have gearboxes and can be stopped and pushed back, even when they are actuated. The drives have a Caster-wheel suspension like the wheels of a shopping cart. These two properties together make our robots inherently safe. Their use will increase the safety in your facility and decrease the number of accidents.

...greener,

Our robots have a payload to weight ratio of 5:1, while comparable robots have typically a ratio of around 2:1 or even less. This means that our robots consume significantly less power since they have to move much less total weight at the same payload. Furthermore, our robots are omni-directional. They can move almost instantly in any direction and in any orientation. They can navigate more efficiently, which increase throughput and reduces time and energy consumption.

...customizable,

Our robots can be customized to a customer’s need very quickly. We have adopted a design concept, which was initially developed in the automotive industry: the platform concept. Our robots are built of a construction kit of modular, quasi standardized components. The modularity of our components together with the high configurability of our KELO drives enables us to (re-)design our robots according to a customer’s needs with limited effort and in a short period of time. Furthermore, using the same components in different robot models facilitates economy of scale and reduces cost both in development and in series production.

...more efficient!

Our robots are collaborative. They can interact with human workers and support them in the execution of their task. It is a meanwhile widely adopted insight that full automation in many industrial contexts is a dead end and that teams consisting of humans and robots can reduce idle times and increase efficiency to a significant extent. (see white paper World Economic Forum 2020). A prerequisite is that humans and robots can interact smoothly and intuitively. Our robots have this ability. As a matter of fact our robots can improve the efficiency of your operations by 40% or more.

...safer,

Our robots are inherently safe. They can be pushed back or aside if they get into a human's way or approach the human in an undesired way. Humans and robot can safely move side-by-side even in narrow space. This property will be indispensable for future generations of mobile service robots, which shall operate in close proximity to humans. The robots inherit this property from our KELO drives. Our drives do not have gearboxes and can be stopped and pushed back, even when they are actuated. The drives have a Caster-wheel suspension like the wheels of a shopping cart. These two properties together make our robots inherently safe. Their use will increase the safety in your facility and decrease the number of accidents.

...greener,

Our robots have a payload to weight ratio of 5:1, while comparable robots have typically a ratio of around 2:1 or even less. This means that our robots consume significantly less power since they have to move much less total weight at the same payload. Furthermore, our robots are omni-directional. They can move almost instantly in any direction and in any orientation. They can navigate more efficiently, which increase throughput and reduces time and energy consumption.

...customizable,

Our robots can be customized to a customer’s need very quickly. We have adopted a design concept, which was initially developed in the automotive industry: the platform concept. Our robots are built of a construction kit of modular, quasi standardized components. The modularity of our components together with the high configurability of our KELO drives enables us to (re-)design our robots according to a customer’s needs with limited effort and in a short period of time. Furthermore, using the same components in different robot models facilitates economy of scale and reduces cost both in development and in series production.

...more efficient!

Our robots are collaborative. They can interact with workers and support them in the execution of their task. It is a meanwhile widely adopted insight that full automation in many industrial contexts is a dead end and that teams consisting of humans and robots can reduce idle times and increase efficiency to a significant extent. (see white paper World Economic Forum 2020). A prerequisite is that humans and robots can interact smoothly and intuitively. Our robots have this ability. As a matter of fact our robots can improve the efficiency of your operations by 40% or more.

...safer,

Our robots are inherently safe. They can be pushed back or aside if they get into a human's way or approach the human in an undesired way. Humans and robot can safely move side-by-side even in narrow space. This property will be indispensable for future generations of mobile service robots, which shall operate in close proximity to humans. The robots inherit this property from our KELO drives. Our drives do not have gearboxes and can be stopped and pushed back, even when they are actuated. The drives have a Caster-wheel suspension like the wheels of a shopping cart. These two properties together make our robots inherently safe. Their use will increase the safety in your facility and decrease the number of accidents.

...greener,

Our robots have a payload to weight ratio of 5:1, while comparable robots have typically a ratio of around 2:1 or even less. This means that our robots consume significantly less power since they have to move much less total weight at the same payload. Furthermore, our robots are omni-directional. They can move almost instantly in any direction and in any orientation. They can navigate more efficiently, which increase throughput and reduces time and energy consumption.

...customizable,

Our robots can be customized to a customer’s need very quickly. We have adopted a design concept, which was initially developed in the automotive industry: the platform concept. Our robots are built of a construction kit of modular, quasi standardized components. The modularity of our components together with the high configurability of our KELO drives enables us to (re-)design our robots according to a customer’s needs with limited effort and in a short period of time. Furthermore, using the same components in different robot models facilitates economy of scale and reduces cost both in development and in series production.

...more efficient!

Our robots are collaborative. They can interact with workers and support them in the execution of their task. It is a meanwhile widely adopted insight that full automation in many industrial contexts is a dead end and that teams consisting of humans and robots can reduce idle times and increase efficiency to a significant extent. (see white paper World Economic Forum 2020). A prerequisite is that humans and robots can interact smoothly and intuitively. Our robots have this ability. As a matter of fact our robots can improve the efficiency of your operations by 40% or more.

...cheaper,

Our robots come at a fraction of the price of comparable robots. To achieve this cost reduction, we have transferred the platform concept, which was developed in automotive industry and has led to significant cost savings there, into the design of mobile service robots. Our robots are built off a set of re-usable functional modules. Using the same components in different robot models facilitates economy of scale and reduces cost both in development and in series production …

greener,

Our robots have a payload to weight ratio of 9:1, while comparable robots have typically a ratio of around 3:1 or even less. This means that our robots consume significantly less power since they have to move much less total weight at the same payload. Furthermore, our robots are omni-directional. They can move almost instantly in any direction and in any orientation. They can navigate more efficiently, which increase throughput and reduces time and energy consumption…

safer!

Our robots are inherently safe. Inherent safety means that our robots can be pushed back or aside if they get into a human's way or approach the human in an undesired way. Humans and robot can safely move side-by-side even in narrow space. This property will be indispensable for future generations of mobile service robots, which shall operate in close proximity to humans. The robots inherit this property from our KELO drives. Our drives do not have gearboxes and can be pushed back, even when they are actuated. The drives have a Caster-wheel suspension like the wheels of a shopping cart. These two properties together make our robots inherently safe

...cheaper,

Our robots come at a fraction of the price of comparable robots. To achieve this cost reduction, we have transferred the platform concept, which was developed in automotive industry and has led to significant cost savings there, into the design of mobile service robots. Our robots are built off a set of re-usable functional modules. Using the same components in different robot models facilitates economy of scale and reduces cost both in development and in series production …

greener,

Our robots have a payload to weight ratio of 9:1, while comparable robots have typically a ratio of around 3:1 or even less. This means that our robots consume significantly less power since they have to move much less total weight at the same payload. Furthermore, our robots are omni-directional. They can move almost instantly in any direction and in any orientation. They can navigate more efficiently, which increase throughput and reduces time and energy consumption…

safer!

Our robots are inherently safe. Inherent safety means that our robots can be pushed back or aside if they get into a human's way or approach the human in an undesired way. Humans and robot can safely move side-by-side even in narrow space. This property will be indispensable for future generations of mobile service robots, which shall operate in close proximity to humans. The robots inherit this property from our KELO drives. Our drives do not have gearboxes and can be pushed back, even when they are actuated. The drives have a Caster-wheel suspension like the wheels of a shopping cart. These two properties together make our robots inherently safe

...cheaper,

Our robots come at a fraction of the price of comparable robots. To achieve this cost reduction, we have transferred the platform concept, which was developed in automotive industry and has led to significant cost savings there, into the design of mobile service robots. Our robots are built off a set of re-usable functional modules. Using the same components in different robot models facilitates economy of scale and reduces cost both in development and in series production.

greener,

Our robots have a payload to weight ratio of 9:1, while comparable robots have typically a ratio of around 3:1 or even less. This means that our robots consume significantly less power since they have to move much less total weight at the same payload. Furthermore, our robots are omni-directional. They can move almost instantly in any direction and in any orientation. They can navigate more efficiently, which increases throughput and reduces time and energy consumption.

safer!

Our robots are inherently safe. Inherent safety means that our robots can be pushed back or aside if they get into a human's way or approach the human in an undesired way. Humans and robot can safely move side-by-side even in narrow space. This property will be indispensable for future generations of mobile service robots, which shall operate in close proximity to humans. The robots inherit this property from our KELO drives. Our drives do not have gearboxes and can be pushed back, even when they are actuated. The drives have a Caster-wheel suspension like the wheels of a shopping cart. These two properties together make our robots inherently safe.