RMT Robotics, a manufacturer and integrator of innovative robotic material handling systems, has signed an agreement to supply a fleet of ADAM intelligent AGVs (i-AGVs) to Hanwha TechM Inc. Hanwha TechM is the factory automation division of Hanwha Corporation, one of South Korea’s largest industrial engineering companies. The fleet will be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Hanwha’s customer, a U.S.-based smart battery manufacturer, is currently expanding its manufacturing facility to meet increasing demand for its newest technology. “There is a high level of automation in the manufacture of modern battery technology,” says Bill Torrens, vice president, sales and marketing, RMT Robotics. “To fulfill their mandate to produce just in time and operate lean, the client required an intelligent, flexible, and reliable transport solution to automatically connect their islands of manufacturing machinery.”

RMT Robotics will equip the fleet of ADAMs with a conveyor top that supports autonomous product transfer as well as integrated communication with the production machinery. The ADAM solution, which uses on-board, feature-based localization and dynamic obstacle avoidance, enables the vehicles to travel independently between the storage system and the assembly process without the need for guide wires, reflectors, transponders, or centralized guidance.

“Of utmost importance was that the i-AGV solution work safely and efficiently side-by-side with humans in this operation,” adds Torrens. “This underscores the growing importance for transport automation to be flexible, adaptive, and robotically autonomous for success in today’s lean manufacturing environments.”