Bostelman trying the HLPR chair

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) wants to partner with a forklift or automated guided vehicle (AGV) manufacturer to research a semi-autonomous pallet mover based on its home, lift, position and rehabilitation (HLPR) chair.

Roger Bostelman, an electronics engineer with NIST's Intelligent Systems Division (ISD), tells Forkliftaction.com News the HLPR chair is a device that transfers patients to and from seats, beds and toilets.

"While working on the autonomous functionality of the HLPR chair, ISD also considered the material handling aspects of the device as it is based on a manual forklift, and how the technology could perhaps help the forklift industry through advancements and future standards," he says.

Bostelman says forklifts today are manned for mobility and fork control with minimal autonomous functions like fork guidance and "other functions".

"For this project, ISD hopes to provide a forklift capable of moving loads autonomously from one end of a building to another and then [the operator can] unload and load the forklift manually."

He explains that the forklift would be suitable for large facilities with unstructured loading and unloading areas and clear walkways. Applications include loads "with boxes on or off pallets, stacked loads weighing up to 300lbs (136kg) and not cordoned-off vehicle paths".

Bostelman says ISD wants to support the materials handling industry through standards development, performance measurement methods and advanced technology R&D.

The forklift or AGV manufacturer could participate in ISD's research project through a co-operative research and development agreement, as guest researchers, a contract or other means to guide the research for the fastest government-to-industry technology transfer, he says.

The NIST Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory's ISD has been working on autonomous mobility for about 30 years through its Intelligent Control of Mobility Systems program. NIST researchers found there was a gap in technology and standards that supported its concept for mobilising and lifting patients. The HLPR chair project, an NIST seed project, was born four years ago to research future standards needs with USD262,000 invested so far.

Established in 1901, NIST is a US Department of Commerce agency that promotes US innovation and industrial competitiveness through advancing measurement science, standards and technology.

Email Roger Bostelman at bostel@cme.nist.gov for details.