Engineers develop smart conveyor rollers for the factory of the future
Conveyor systems are used in many different places: mail-order firms, parcel delivery services, factories, airports, to name but a few. To improve the speed and reliability with which goods are transported to their destinations, engineers in Saarbrücken are currently developing smart conveyor rollers that communicate with one another. The drive systems specialist Matthias Nienhaus from Saarland University is collaborating with partners to turn the motor inside every drive roller into a sensor. When the conveyor is running, the drive motors continuously generate data, which allows the rollers to be precisely controlled and thus respond to changing operating conditions. These intelligent roller conveyor systems can identify new routes if a fault arises or can flag up certain conditions, such as when there is space in a box for more cans. The project partners intend to test the system at a large distribution centre.