BMW's IDEALworks to Develop Robotic Solutions for Smarter Logistics

The BMW Group breaks new ground in the field of logistics as it founds IDEALworks GmbH – a fully-owned subsidiary headquartered in Munich.

The aim is to become a leading supplier of autonomous robotics solutions in the logistics sector. The name "IDEAL" stands for Industry Driven Engineering for Autonomous Logistics.

Milan Nedeljković, the member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Production explains: “In founding IDEALworks, we are creating a new business segment for our logistics solutions.

"In recent years, our logistics innovation team has been working in depth on the digitalization and automatization of production logistics and has developed some unique solutions.

"The Smart Transport Robot, STR, in particular has met with great response and has seen demand from both within and outside of the BMW Group. Founding IDEALworks GmbH is now the logical next step for the BMW Group as a driver of innovation.”

Since 2015, the innovations team from BMW Group Logistics has been working on future-focused industry 4.0 solutions in the fields of virtual reality, augmented reality, in- and outdoor logistics robots, paperless logistics and smart devices.

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Many of these solutions are already in series production at BMW Group production locations.

The Smart Transport Robot, STR, was developed in 2015 in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute.

The flat, autonomous and mobile robots can transport goods weighing up to one ton to their destination. They independently calculate the best route and move freely around the space using the SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) navigation method.

The SLAM algorithm does not require permanent navigation transmitters to be installed in buildings and can therefore be set up quickly in a new environment without requiring any structural adjustments.

An integrated battery module from the BMW i3 is able to supply the STR with power for at least an entire shift. The next generation of the STR will be rolled out at the end of 2020. Currently, more than 130 STRs are already in series production at several different BMW Group production sites.

Markus Bauer, COO IDEALworks GmbH said: "The success of the pilot project and the resulting demand for the STR were decisive in founding IDEALworks GmbH.

"We want to develop IDEALworks into a top player among the providers of industrial logistics robots in the long term."

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