OTTO Motors Launches World’s Smartest Autonomous Forklift

Forklifts are clearly and understandably vital to the material handling and distribution industries.

They’re also dangerous.

There’s a National Forklift Safety Day for a reason. When traditional forklifts are on-site, they account for:

• 10% of all physical injuries in those workplaces
• An average of 85 deaths annually
• Nearly 35,000 serious injuries in the U.S. alone

70% of all industrial accidents are caused by operator error, according to the National Safety Council. Setting up a Google News alert to the word ‘forklift’ leads to a litany of horrible accidents, and statistics galore about the prevalence of injuries and deaths.

That doesn’t even include the vast amounts of money lost to litigation or to damaged inventories due to these same accidents. And now that every industry is struggling for labor and forklift drivers, that means less and less experienced workers in the driver’s seat.

OTTO MOTORS’ NEW SOLUTION

OTTO Motors, a leading provider of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), has more than a decade of autonomous material handling expertise… and three million hours of material handling driving experience with zero safety incidents.

OTTO has built the most productive AMRs with the best driving capabilities for some of the biggest brands in the world… and now, they’ve announced the availability of OTTO Lifter: the smartest autonomous forklift on the market.

“Over the last decade, our AMRs have solved material handling challenges for some of the largest companies in the world, but our customers have made it clear that there was a missing member of the team – one that could pick up a pallet on its own,” explained OTTO Motors’ CEO Matt Rendall. “We’ve answered that call with OTTO Lifter: your new forklift driver. We put years of autonomous driving experience into OTTO Lifter, making it the smartest forklift on the market.”

With the addition of the Lifter and its ability to pick up and drop off pallets autonomously, OTTO Motors now has the most comprehensive offering of material handling robots on the market.

OTTO Lifter will be demonstrated alongside OTTOs 100 and 1500 at MODEX on March 28-31 in Atlanta, Georgia at Booth #B4824. OTTO executives and customers will also be speaking at the following sessions:

Seeing Is Believing: Simulating AMRs for Successful Deployments
Tuesday, March 29, 3:45 – 4:30 PM EST
Location: Theater B
Details: https://www.modexshow.com/education/seminar/2077

Fireside Chat with AMR Users: Lessons Learned in Business-Critical Installations
Wednesday, March 30, 12:00 – 12:45 PM EST
Location: Theater F
Details: https://www.modexshow.com/education/seminar/2141

 

FEATURES

OTTO Lifter is a smart autonomous forklift that drives nimbly in crowded and dynamic environments and improves safety in warehouses and facilities. With advanced safety sensors and class-leading autonomous driving capabilities, the Lifter works alongside people, other vehicles, and existing infrastructure; providing businesses a safer material handling solution for as low as $9 per hour. The autonomous forklift is compatible with the entire OTTO Motors fleet of AMRs through OTTO Motors’ Fleet Manager.

Built on OTTO’s industry-leading platform for autonomous materials handling, OTTO Lifter’s autonomy software makes intelligent, real-time decisions. With dynamic path planning, lane tending, intelligent pallet detection and stretch wrap piercing, the Lifter seamlessly navigates traffic and obstacles to predictably and precisely deliver materials to the right place, at the right time.

“OTTO Lifter can make real-time decisions in complex environments,” added the company’s VP of Product Jay Judkowitz. “Unlike other autonomous forklifts in the market, OTTO Lifter can find a pallet if skewed, adapt behavior in highly-dynamic environments, and choose the best route on its own.”

 

KEY ADVANTAGES

Adaptability:

OTTO Lifter has no problem dealing with dynamic work zones to navigate safely through high-traffic areas and intelligently move at speed through low-traffic zones. Route optimization is completely autonomous and integrates seamlessly with the design workflows specific to customer needs.

Precision:

OTTO Lifter intelligently determines if a pallet is properly seated, if it is centered or skewed, and whether stretch wrap is covering entry notches. OTTO Lifter can also match its speed to the environment; accelerating when it’s safe to do so, and slowing down accordingly when needed.

Safety:

Advanced safety sensors paired with OTTO Motors’ class-leading autonomous driving capabilities reduces risk of workplace safety incidents. OTTO Lifter works safely alongside people, existing infrastructure, and other vehicles. 

Set-up & Maintenance:

OTTO Motors has a proven track record of durability, and their new Lifter is no different. In addition, OTTO Lifter is built with off-the-shelf parts, so maintenance is easy to do with little downtime. It’s easy to install, and is up and running from Day One after arriving in any facility. 

Specs:

• Payload Capacity: 2,640 lbs (1,200 kgs)
• Travel Speed: 3.4 mph (1.5 m/s)
• Reach Height: 106 in. (2.7 m)

 

INTEGRATION PROVIDERS

In addition to more than eighty integrator partners worldwide including Honeywell Intelligrated, Matthews Automation Solutions, and Gray Solutions, OTTO Motors is now available through a network of leading material handling solutions providers in North America, including Eastern Lift Truck Co. and Toyota Material Handling Systems of Atlanta.

“With more than 45 years of experience, Toyota Material Handling Systems has helped warehouse and manufacturing facilities find and deploy the best solutions in material handling. When the team brought OTTO Motors to demo at our facility for the first time, I asked what I had to do to make sure that those vehicles didn’t leave my facility that day because I knew our customers needed what OTTO offers,” said Toyota Material Handling Systems’ Vice President Zach Smith. “We’re proud to bring our customers OTTO Motors’ fleet of autonomous mobile robots including their autonomous forklift, OTTO Lifter.”

 

About OTTO Motors

OTTO Motors provides autonomous mobile robots for material handling inside manufacturing facilities and warehouses. With over three million hours of driving experience, OTTO is trusted for mission-critical deliveries in the most demanding of industrial environments. Seventy percent of OTTO’s customers are Fortune 500 companies and include some of the world’s most recognized brands, including GE and Toyota. For more information, visit ottomotors.com.

 

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