Together with our customers, we develop an individually adapted interface concept that creates an ideal connection between vehicle and conveyor technology in the mostly complex overall systems. In addition, we ensure that the vehicle and the warehouse management system are optimally coordinated. An example: The ideal storage location is clearly determined by the dimensions and weight of the goods and is communicated to the forklift drivers via the process technology directly into the vehicle. After the operator has entered the storage position, our optionally integrable automatic shelf compartment positioning system ensures that the truck positions itself directly and precisely in front of the correct shelf compartment. We provide further assistance for storage and retrieval directly on the shelf with our Hubtex Load Manager. This enables a freely programmable lifting height preselection and can be interlocked with the aforementioned system. After the forklift drivers have acknowledged the end position, the pallets are stored in the allocated space with millimetre precision. All our assistance systems can be controlled via the Hubtex Information Terminal (HIT3).

There is no generally valid solution to this question for our vehicle range. However, one of our core competencies as a manufacturer of special purpose machines is to develop the appropriate solutions for our customers' individual requirements. In doing so, we take into account the entirety of all logistics and production processes and advise our customers on the most economical and efficient solution for them. The networking of the vehicle control with the warehouse logistics and the warehouse management system as well as the integration of a battery management system are recurring tasks.

Partially and fully automated solutions are currently more in demand than ever before, especially in special vehicle construction. We recognize that the boundaries between partially and fully automated systems are becoming increasingly blurred. Examples of this can be found in heavy-duty transport vehicles in the automotive industry or in order-picking vehicles in the timber industry. Due to the large number of possible applications and the heterogeneity of loads, there are, from our perspective, many individually adapted special solutions in this area. Today, it is becoming increasingly important to equip vehicles with numerous assistance systems in order to increase safety for people and goods as well as the efficiency of processes. This includes, among other things, the networking of the vehicle control system with the warehouse management system for (semi-)automatic shelf compartment positioning. In our estimation, our core product, electric reusable forklifts, will in the medium term transport long loads, for the most part fully automatically.

In the area of our special and customized vehicles, the subject of automation has been with us for many years. In the area of our volume product, the electric multidirectional sideloader, there is, in our estimation, no solution that can cover the typical application requirements in the area of long goods handling of multidirectional sideloaders as an automated system.
Therefore we have already designed our vehicles of the new Phoenix series in their basic configuration for step-by-step automation. A new generation of vehicle control, pre-planned cable paths, positions for sensors and other equipment features are proof of this. Numerous assistance systems can be integrated into the vehicles if required. One example of this is laser-assisted navigation, which will be available for the first time in this vehicle series. In future, drivers will be able to position the truck with millimetre accuracy, which will bring a number of advantages in practice. Our multi-level concept in the field of automation starts with the integration of assistance systems and extends to fully automated vehicle solutions. With this forward-thinking approach, we support companies in equipping themselves to meet the challenges of the digital age. In the end, the solution must always be tailored to the specific application.