OTTO Motors Adds Autonomous Forklift to AMR Offerings
March 24, 2022
OTTO Motors, which develops autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) has announced the availability of the OTTO Lifter, an autonomous forklift that can pick up an drop off pallets autonomously. The OTTO Lifter joins the company’s other material handling robots, including the OTTO 100 and 1500.
The OTTO Lifter is a smart autonomous forklift that can drive nimbly in crowded and dynamic environments, improving safety in warehouses and other facilities, the company said. WIth advanced safety sensors and class-leading autonomous driving capabilities, the OTTO Lifter can work alongside people, other vehicles, and within an existing infrastructure, giving businesses a material handling solution for as low as $9 per hour. The new forklift is also compatible with the entire OTTO Motors fleet of AMRs through the OTTO Motors Fleet Manager.
“Over the last decade, our AMRs have solved material handling challenges for some of the largest companies in the world, but our customers have made it clear that there was a missing member of the team – one that could pick up a pallet on its own,” said Matt Rendall, CEO of OTTO Motors. “We’ve answered that call with OTTO Lifter – your new forklift driver. We put years of autonomous driving experience into OTTO Lifter, making it the smartest forklift on the market.”
Based on OTTO’s platform for autonomous material handling, the Lifter’s autonomy software can make intelligent, real-time decisions, with features such as path planning, lane tending, intelligent pallet detection and stretch wrap piercing. The Lifter can also seamlessly navigate traffic and obstacles to predictably and precisely deliver materials to the right place, at the right time, the company said.
“OTTO Lifter can make real-time decisions in complex environments,” added Jay Judkowitz, vice president of product at OTTO Motors. “Unlike other autonomous forklifts in the market, OTTO Lifter can find a pallet if skewed, adapt behavior in highly dynamic environments, and choose the best route on its own.”
Specifications of OTTO Lifter include a payload capacity of 2,640 lbs (1,200 kg), a travel speed of up to 3.4 mph (1.5 m/sec), and a 106-inch (2.7m) reach height (30 inches in autonomous mode).
In addition to more than 80 integrator partners worldwide, OTTO Motors is available through some of the largest material handling dealer networks in North America. “With more than 45 years of experience, Toyota Material handling Systems has helped warehouse and manufacturing facilities find and deploy the best solutions in material handling,” said Zach Smith, vice president at Toyota Material Handling Systems. “When the team brought OTTO Motors to demo at our facility for the first time, I asked what I had to do to make sure that those vehicles didn’t leave my facility that day because I knew our customers needed what OTTO offers. We’re proud to bring our customers OTTO Motors’ fleet of autonomous mobile robots, including their autonomous forklift, OTTO Lifter.”
OTTO Motors said it will demonstrate the new Lifter and other AMRs at next week’s MODEX 2022 event in Atlanta, as well as participate in several speaking sessions at the show. For more details on the new lifter, visit the OTTO Motors website here.
