To speed up the movement of materials from one part of factories to another, BMW has introduced self-driving trains
According to a recent survey, 2018 will be the year of automation. Many companies will increasingly rely on robotic and intelligent production systems. Among the most advanced European companies, in terms of technological innovation, are those in Germany. BMW in particular.
One of the world's leading car manufacturers has recently unveiled a new system for transporting goods around its factories: self-driving trains. The vehicles are able to move on their own, without the need for human support. In practice, BMW has applied the technology, still being perfected, of cars and transferred it to company machines. A really important step in Industry 4.0. And that's not all. The new means of transport, which for now can only move along predefined routes, will soon be further improved.
BMWM's toy trains will be smarter
BWM's toy trains, according to the company itself, will in the future be equipped with a very high level of autonomy. The vehicles will be able to detect and avoid obstacles and choose which route to take on their own. Very important innovations, which make the German automotive company one of the main protagonists in view of the fourth industrial revolution.
BMW is testing, at the moment, the robotized convoys in three plants: Berlin, Dingolfing and Leipzig. But it's very likely that the vehicles will soon arrive in plants in other cities.
These trials prove the predictions of many analysts that automation and digitization are inevitable for the factories of large companies. And it couldn't be otherwise. The fourth industrial revolution, in fact, is very demanding: companies either adapt or fall behind. A discourse that is also affecting the manufacturing sector, the heart of European industry.