Swiss-headquartered ABB Robotics, has launched a new autonomous forklift, the Flexley Stack F712, extending its AI-powered Visual SLAM technology to enable pallet transport and high density storage.

Expanding the Visual SLAM enables customers to deploy mixed fleets of tugs, movers and forklifts on a common navigation, fleet management and software platform - or a “complete interoperable ecosystem” - ABB states.

The F712 AMR has a payload capacity up to 2,000kg and a reach height of 8.5m. It is versatile and capable enough to handle multiple load types and sizes, including open and closed pallets, containers or racks.

ABB says as the F712 uses Visual SLAM to map and navigate its environment, it eliminates the need for pre-installed infrastructure such as markers or reflectors, as is common with conventional AMR forklifts.

The F712 is fully integrated with AMR Studio and is VDA5050 compatible, “enabling seamless integration with ABB Robotics’ Visual SLAM AMRs and existing systems within a unified project”.

ABB states this shortens commission times by up to 20%.

“This makes it easy to manage complex projects and integrate different types of mobile robots,” ABB continues of its integrated system. 

“The no-code, drag-and-drop software suite supports rapid setup, fleet coordination, traffic management and real-time visualisation, allowing ABB Robotics’ tugs, movers and forklifts to operate together in the same layout for scalable turnkey automation projects.”

The Flexley Stack AMR F712 joins the Flexley Tug and Flexley Mover in ABB Robotics’ growing Visual SLAM AMR portfolio which can be used in intralogistics tasks such as warehouse storage and retrieval, as well as line supply, end-of-line handling.

“Across intralogistics operations, businesses are being asked to process greater volumes in less time, while working with increasingly limited resources,” says Marc Segura, president, ABB Robotics. 

“They are under pressure to move goods faster and with greater flexibility, while labour availability is becoming a critical constraint. As part of our journey to more autonomous and versatile robotics (AVRTM), we have combined advanced vision, mobility and intelligence in the Flexley Stack F712 forklift AMR, completing our scalable, AI-powered AMR portfolio.”