Today’s Forklift News looks at research into a surprisingly basic challenge for warehouse automation: how workers and autonomous mobile robots can communicate their intentions. Also today, electric and automated forklifts are changing industrial tire requirements.
Automation | Raymond Research Explores Human-AMR Communication
As autonomous equipment increasingly shares warehouse space with people, detecting a worker is only part of the challenge. Research supported through The Raymond Corporation’s University Research Program is looking at how workers and autonomous mobile robots can communicate their intentions through gestures.
Researchers at Rochester Institute of Technology studied communication already taking place in warehouse environments, including horns, verbal communication, visual signals and informal gestures. The work was used to develop a structured gesture vocabulary covering worker intentions, commands and two-way acknowledgement between people and autonomous equipment.
The project brings together human factors, ergonomics and computer vision with actual warehouse operating practices. It addresses an increasingly important issue as AMRs and other autonomous equipment move from segregated automation zones into spaces shared with warehouse employees.
Raymond also announced that the next cycle of its University Research Program opens October 1, with up to $500,000 in grant funding available. Research priorities for 2027 include embedded AI for vehicle awareness and control, warehouse automation resilience, cybersecurity for connected material handling equipment and evaluation of humanoid robotics for warehouse tasks.
Source: The Raymond Corporation
Worth Reading | Electric and Automated Forklifts Put New Demands on Tires
Electrification and automation are changing more than the forklift powertrain. A new Modern Tire Dealer feature looks at how heavier battery-electric trucks, longer operating hours and increasingly automated duty cycles are affecting industrial tire requirements.
Tire manufacturers interviewed for the article point to growing emphasis on durability, consistency and lower rolling resistance. Other developments include non-marking compounds for cleaner operating environments and tire-monitoring technologies that can support preventive maintenance.
It is a useful look at an often overlooked part of forklift operating cost and performance. Tire selection can affect energy consumption, uptime, operator comfort and maintenance requirements, making the subject increasingly relevant as fleets electrify and automate.
Worth Reading: Modern Tire Dealer
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Forklift News Daily is a curated weekday briefing from ForkliftRevolution.net covering lift trucks, automation, batteries, safety, fleet management and the changing material handling industry.
