Autonomous forklifts are rolling out | HBS Dealer

Oct 23, 2024

Cyngn, a technology company based in Menlo Park, Calif., is sharing news that its autonomous DriveMod Forklift has completed its first "paid autonomous deployment" at a customer's facility. Per the company, its product is built with an array of safety systems, including 360° high-definition perception and "virtual bumper" technology, which enables autonomous forklifts to safely navigate "dynamic" environments with precision. The video below offers a peek at the design and safety features Cyngn touts as the future of warehouse tech.

Details on Cyngn's customer's forklift use case are being kept "confidential" at this time, per the company, though it did sign a contract with a building supply company in 2022 and also with a Chilean forestry supplier in 2023.

"The DriveMod Forklift represents the holy grail of automation. This is one of the few machines that can autonomously accomplish entire material moving flows, from A-to-Z, without requiring human intervention," said Ben Landen, VP of business development at Cyngn. "This means that the market for autonomous forklifts is among the largest in comparison to other material handling vehicles, and we've carved out a differentiated niche by targeting heavy loads on non-standard pallets. This achievement allows us to validate and showcase the forklift's capabilities in real-world, high-throughput settings that capture significant value for our customer."

According to Cyngn, its DriveMod Forklift leverages advanced AI and proprietary computer vision to analyze pallet stack and pocket dimensions in real time, enabling the precise handling of loads over 10,000 pounds. Customers can control the DriveMod Forklift via Cyngn Insight, the company's fleet management system, which "enables real-time vehicle monitoring, operational analytics and centralized mission planning."

The DriveMod Forklift is now available for additional deployments on a select basis. You can learn more here.