Deutsche Post presents first ready-for-market parcel robot

After four years of intensive development Deutsche Post World Net presented its first parcel robot ready for the market to the public on Thursday in Bremen. The innovative system was conceived for emptying containers loaded with parcels. The robot will be used for the first time from March 2007 in the DHL logistics center in Essen.

"The parcel robot is the first fully autonomous system worldwide which can unload containers with loose parcels globally," says Keith Ulrich, Head of Technology and Innovation Management at Deutsche Post World Net. "This makes automation of the manual and physically highly strenuous loading operations at the ramp possible."

Steered by a specially developed software and a laser scanner, the robot picks up the parcels in the container and places them on a conveyor which transports the packages into the logistics center.

The development of the automatic unloading system was a joint project of Deutsche Post World Net, the Bremen Institute of Industrial Technology and Applied Work Science (BIBA) at the University of Bremen as well as Astrium Space Transportation GmbH. The Bremen-based ThyssenKrupp Krause company specializing in assembly technology, a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp AG, will market the parcel robot globally as a licensee. Renowned companies have already stated their interest in buying it.

"With ThyssenKrupp Krause we have found the ideal partner to produce and further develop this highly complex system. Due to its experience and marketing expertise the company is perfectly suited to successfully place this new and innovative product on the market," says Ulrich.

"We are opening a new business field with this cutting-edge technology," emphasizes Dr. Jörg Bunke, Head of Electric Construction at ThyssenKrupp Krause, the significance for his company and adds: "With this product we are adding another string to our bow apart from assembly and test system construction for the automotive industry."

Deutsche Post, ThyssenKrupp Krause and BIBA plan on jointly further developing the parcel robot. Speed and stability in everyday operations as well as a combination with other innovative technologies such as, for instance, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) shall be focused on.

With the parcel robot Deutsche Post World Net is once again confirming its innovative edge in the logistics sector. For the parcel robot alone, seven patent rights and a utility patent were registered, two patents have already been issued. Any Group innovations will, from the beginning of next year, be researched, developed and processed to be ready for the market at the DHL Innovation Center in Troisdorf near Bonn.