"Milestone"

DB Schenker tests remote-controlled forklift trucks

A "remote driver" controls the forklift trucks from a distance.(Bild: DB Schenker)

At Deutsche Bahn subsidiary DB Schenker, forklift trucks are now being operated by remote control. At its site in Kassel, Hesse, the logistics service provider is testing the remote control of several different forklift trucks at different locations. "A milestone in the direction of automation in logistics," the company is convinced.

Remote-controlled driving has the potential to increase efficiency and eliminate staff shortages by separating drivers from forklift trucks, DB Schenker said in a press release. The technology required for this decoupling of driver and vehicle is provided by the Karlsruhe-based start-up enabl Technologies (see video below), which equips the forklift trucks with sensors and electronics.

The truck then communicates with a remote workstation via a network, from which a driver can control the vehicle at any time. Thanks to an "intuitive and high-performance" control system, it should be possible to map "almost all applications as in conventional operation". The customer pays per order driven, eliminating expensive downtimes and waiting times.

More flexible
"The collaboration with enabl enables us to react flexibly to fluctuations in demand and automate our processes in order to increase productivity," says Lucas Mömken from DB Schenker. A letter of intent describing the long-term collaboration to scale up the remote switching and automation technology for forklift trucks at several of the logistics company's international locations was recently signed.

There should certainly be enough demand: According to enabl, there are currently more than 17,000 vacancies for forklift drivers. This shortage of skilled workers is an overarching challenge for the entire industry - and a growing problem.