Autonomous mobile robot (AMR) market leader Mobile Industrial Robots A/S (MiR) and the materials handling equipment manufacturer Interthor/Logitrans have entered a strategic collaboration to build autonomous pallet jacks. The autonomous pallet jacks are designed to fill a gap in the market for safely, efficiently and autonomously lifting pallets directly from the ground.

The autonomous pallet jack will combine MiR’s autonomous navigation and software capabilities with the functionality of electric pallet jacks developed by Interthor/Logitrans over the last 80 years. 

The companies have agreed to develop a new range of autonomous pallet jacks that will supplement MiR’s current heavy-payload mobile robots, which can transport pallets and goods smoothly and safely among people and other transport equipment in dynamic surroundings. MiR’s existing robots can pick up pallets from specially designed pallet racks, and many MiR customers are requesting AMRs that can pick up and deliver pallets from the ground.

The collaboration enables both MiR and Interthor/Logitrans to meet customer demands while it also creates many new business opportunities in a market of huge potential.

“Our mission has always been to transform the way companies handle internal logistics so that they can be more productive and competitive — and this new initiative is another giant step forward in doing so. Combining our software competencies with Interthor/Logitrans’ decades of hardware knowledge will help us to quickly fill this gap so that we can support our customers throughout their entire value chain,” says Søren E. Nielsen, president of MiR.