de
en

Driverless tow-tractor in 3-shift operations at major German car manufacturing plant

Written by mashvp
Driverless tow-tractor in 3-shift operations at major German car manufacturing plant
News

“EZTow” driverless tow tractor now in 3-shift operations at Level 4 of autonomous driving (without any human attendant onboard the vehicle) at the Bavarian car manufacturing plant

The autonomous vehicle has been operating on a key, outdoor route within the plant’s production flows for a year, replacing a manual tow tractor

Meeting goals to be independent of any driver shortages

Tow tractor supplied by TractEasy, a joint venture between ground support equipment manufacturer TLD and driverless technology leader EasyMile

The EZTow is fully integrated into the local operation team at the BMW Group Plant Dingolfing, supervised and maintained alongside its indoor Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs). It progressed from 1 to 3-shifts with the plant increasing the tractor’s capacity as it proved its reliability and performance with smooth operation and the ability to handle harsh weather.

“Our success on this flow confirms driverless technology is ready for the outdoors in manufacturing. Autonomous towing offers improved safety, higher efficiency and lower operating costs. It is a key part of a production flow’s automation solution,” said Richard Reno, CEO of TractEasy.

The objective is to boost the fleet and operational scale; the larger the number of vehicles on a single site, the greater the potential for enhanced knowledge, support infrastructure, maintenance capacity, and return on investment (ROI).

“BMW is an extremely important client. We are very proud to have met their requirements for operational excellence. The factory of Dingolfing sets a benchmark for driverless towing on outdoor production flows,” added Benoit Perrin, General Manager of technology provider EasyMile.

 

The electric, autonomous vehicle leverages mature, reliable technology from TLD and EasyMile, using a range of sensors with real-time processing, allowing the EZTow to navigate the complex outdoor, industrial environment with centimeter-level precision, either replacing or integrating with its conventional, manned counterparts under human direction.

The EZTow’s autonomous driving stack is built from EasyMile’s technology. EasyMile’s software is the most widely used autonomous vehicle solution in the world with more than 400 deployments and over 100,000,000 kilometers driven autonomously.

The EZTow is the most-deployed autonomous tow tractor globally. It operates on a number of major automotive manufacturing plants and logistics centers in Europe and the United States. It is also in use at major airports around the world.

 

MEDIA CONTACT:

EasyMile
Benieke Treverton, Head of Communications
benieke.treverton@easymile.com