BMW relies on AGILOX Swarm for autonomous production supply

Up to 1,300 cars are delivered to customers worldwide from the BMW Group plant in Regensburg every day. An AGILOX swarm consisting of 27 Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) is responsible for the replenishment of the majority of the bodywork processes as well as the whole load carrier handling. The AMRs communicate with each other by exchanging data several times per second. The intelligent robots do not require any physical guidance system, a central master computer or adjustments to the infrastructure. They calculate the fastest and safest route through the system completely autonomously.

The Customer

The BMW Group, headquartered in Munich, is one of the largest automotive manufacturers (cars and motorcycles) globally. In Regensburg, the company operates one of the most advanced automotive production plants in Europe, spanning over 1.4 million square meters. Up to 1,300 vehicles of the BMW 1 Series, BMW X1, and BMW X2 models are delivered to customers worldwide on a daily basis.
As part of their production logistics, 27 AGILOX Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR) are in use at the BMW Group plant Regensburg. In an average week, the swarm moves around 2,624 tons and covers a distance of around 2,047 miles. The swarm in Regensburg is one of the largest AMR fleets in the German-speaking area for supplying production lines in the automotive sector.

Initial Situation

Before the autonomous mobile robots from AGILOX were used, production lines were supplied cyclically using tugger trains. The buffer storage was stocked manually. Stations could only be approached and loaded as part of a fixed cycle. 

The Solution

As part of a pilot project for robot-assisted transport solutions, the first Autonomous Mobile Robot from AGILOX was installed at the BMW Group plant Regensburg in 2017. After a test phase, the swarm was successively expanded. By the end of 2023, 27 AMRs were in use.

The solution is based on the AGILOX X-Swarm Technology. This allows the individual AMRs to communicate and interact with each other. The result is a swarm intelligence in which the computing power and material flow orchestration are distributed among the individual AMRs. If one robot fails, the remaining robots ensure the uninterrupted flow of goods. The AMRs recognize the smallest obstacles along the way and are able to avoid them completely autonomously and independently. The route is rescheduled within a few milliseconds and coordinated with the entire swarm. The remaining robots can therefore also react quickly to changes and guarantee an uninterrupted material flow supply.


As of today, 27 AGILOX ONEs are supplying the workstations with raw materials for the assembly of body components. Workstations are automatically replenished according to demand. Production employees can order parts individually if they are needed at short notice. The AGILOX ONE supplies the station completely independently and can also be used for transporting empty load carriers. The user interface can be individually adapted to the workstation and the material flow control can be changed.

The full and empty load carriers are transported over distances of more than 330 feet in mixed traffic, which includes pedestrians, forklifts and tugger trains. The AMRs must be able to ensure safe transportation even with the smallest changes. AGILOX Autonomous Mobile Robots meet all the required safety standards (2006/42/EC, 2014/30/EU, 2014/53/EU, EN ISO 12100:2013, EN ISO 13849-1:2016, EN ISO 13849-2:2013, EN ISO 3691-4:2020) and are both CE and TÜV-certified.

Seven sensors (ultrasound, obstacle avoidance, navigation scanner and several safety sensors) are used. The AMRs recognize the smallest obstacles along the way and are able to avoid them completely autonomously and independently. The route is replanned within a few milliseconds and coordinated with the entire swarm. The remaining robots can also react quickly to changes and guarantee an uninterrupted material flow supply.

Summary

Availability is one of the most important key figures in the automotive industry to ensure that cycle times are met. By using AGILOX AMRs, material flows can be flexibly and independently adapted and changed without having to rely on external resources or disrupting the flow of goods. Innovative mechanisms ensure that goods are transported safely and without interruption to the work stations at all times.