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Robot to the rescue on the loading platform

Deutsche Post DHL has invested more than six years of intense development work in the world's first parcel robot. "It is the first unloading system that can independently unload containers with loose parcels," said Dr. Keith Ulrich, Head of Technology and Innovation Managements at Deutsche Post DHL. "The robot now makes it possible to automate the physically strenuous work of loading on the ramp, which was previously performed manually."

Controlled by specially developed software and a laser scanner, the robot grasps parcels in the container, lifts them and places them on a conveyor belt for transport to the logistics center. The hi-tech helper left the prototype stage some time ago, and in the meantime has reached market maturity. The parcel robot is currently being used at the DHL Logistics Center in Essen, and the METRO Group is one of its first purchasers.

A successful joint project

The parcel robot is the first unloading system ever to handle loose parcels.

The automated unloading system is a joint project of Deutsche Post DHL, the Bremen Institute of Industrial Technology and Applied Work Science (BIBA) at the University of Bremen as well as Astrium Space Transportation GmbH. Assembly technology specialist ThyssenKrupp Krause is now responsible for selling the parcel robot under license worldwide and will supervise the integration of the system in international logistics centers. The parcel robot will also be used at other locations in the future.

As part of ISETEC II (Intelligent Seaport Technology), a publicly-funded research project, the new robot will demonstrate its competencies in the unloading of transport containers sent by ship. Additional research will focus on combining the machine with other groundbreaking technologies such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). Seven patent rights and a utility model have been registered for the parcel robot, and two of the patents have already been issued.

Arm and gripping mechanism

The suction cups on the gripping arm create a vacuum

Suction points on the gripping arm create a vacuum.

An important part of the unloading system is the gripping arm, attached to the robot's front. Six joints provide the necessary freedom of motion that allow the arm to access any point in its surroundings regardless of where a parcel might be-on the top, in the middle or on the floor of a container.

The gripping mechanism itself is also an invention of the project team. The gripping surface is equipped with suction cups of various sizes. The vacuum they create enables the machine to hold tight to cardboard surfaces.

The scanner

Ingo Ahrns calibrating the scanner

Without a high-performance control center and the ability to orient itself, the parcel robot would be blind and clumsy. It was at this point in the development stage that Dr. Ingo Ahrns and his team from Astrium Space Transportation, the Department of Automation and Robotics, entered the game.

A blue case sits above the articulated arm of the parcel robot. It houses a 3D scanner that provides spatial perception for the robot. The device uses a laser to scan the interior of the container in order to determine the strategically best parcel to unload next.

"An image processing program generates a three dimensional picture from the data," Ahrns explained. The software recognizes the edges of the individual parcels on the basis of the scanner data and derives from that information how the parcels are arranged and which one to select next. The computer feeds the result to the control unit, and the arm and gripping mechanism carry out the orders. And while the robot is removing the parcel and placing it on the conveyor belt, the software is already calculating which parcel to take next.