Brownfield automation: How the KION Group modernizes warehouses during ongoing operations

Automating an existing warehouse without interrupting operations – it sounds feasible, but in practice it is one of the biggest challenges in intralogistics. "Brownfield automation is the supreme discipline of intralogistics," says Johannes Hinckeldeyn, Director Advanced Core Technologies at the KION Group.

In contrast to new buildings, a wide variety of technologies have to be combined here in order to modernize existing structures intelligently. "There is no single solution for brownfield projects – it is an interplay of AI, robotics, machine vision, simulation and intelligent navigation," explains Hinckeldeyn. Every warehouse environment brings its own challenges, so tailor-made automation solutions are required.

One of the biggest obstacles to implementing brownfield projects is the enormous diversity of existing warehouse structures. "Many buildings have developed historically, have winding corridors, varying ceiling heights and their own individual infrastructure," explains Hinckeldeyn. This is comparable to autonomous vehicles in a European old town: Unpredictable obstacles and narrow paths make rigid automation difficult.

Navigation is also a challenge. Traditional systems work with optical markers or laser scans – but these are unreliable in mature environments. "Traditional methods quickly reach their limits, for example when shelves are rearranged or lighting conditions change. That's why we are currently developing AI-supported image processing systems," says Hinckeldeyn. "As a first step, we are launching a solution with a static camera on the market." In the future, machine vision technologies should make it possible for automated vehicles and robots to record their surroundings in real time and react flexibly to changes.

After the e-commerce boom of the Covid years, there is an oversupply of warehouse space. "Now the large warehouses from the Covid era are less useful," explains Eike Wibrow, VP Global Technology Strategy at KION. Companies are increasingly focusing on optimizing existing locations instead of building new ones.

According to a 2021 study by GABE, brownfield systems already account for 40% of the market – and the trend is rising. "The market for brownfield automation is huge. The question is not whether companies should automate, but how they can best integrate it into their existing structures," says Wibrow. At the same time, the labor shortage is forcing companies to automate. "Night shifts on the assembly line or in a forklift truck are exhausting and put potential employees off, so 24/7 operations have a hard time."

In order to efficiently automate existing warehouses, highly flexible systems that adapt to different environments are needed. Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) play a central role in this. They are equipped with modern sensors, cameras and machine learning algorithms to navigate the complex warehouse structures. "AGVs today must be able to deal with uncertainties – to recognize obstacles, calculate new paths and adapt independently," explains Johannes Hinckeldeyn.

With iGo Easy from our STILL brand, for example, we offer an out-of-the-box, user-friendly solution, while iGo Systems is a customizable variant for more demanding environments. In addition to AGVs, multishuttle technologies and autostore solutions, such as those offered by our Dematic brand, are becoming increasingly important as they enable efficient retrofitting of existing warehouses.

We rely on strong partnerships when it comes to automation – including cooperation with NVIDIA . One of the most exciting developments is the use of virtual simulations to optimize automation processes. "With Nvidia Omniverse, we can virtually simulate customer environments and train our machines there. This is extremely valuable, especially in the brownfield," explains Eike Wibrow.

Synthetic data can be used to simulate millions of realistic scenarios – such as varying lighting conditions, different pallet colors or obstacles on the paths. "This allows the AI in the simulation to learn to make human-like decisions before it is used in the real warehouse environment," says Wibrow.

In addition, 4D shuttle systems , which can move flexibly in all directions, drive efficiency even further. "4D" means up and down, left and right – and also forwards and backwards without turning. This makes warehouse processes faster and more flexible.

Automation not only affects machines, but also the way they interact with their environment – and this is where adaptive robotics plays a growing role. "A humanoid robot is the best help in the brownfield environment. Because all warehouses are designed for people," says Wibrow. In the next ten years, will this technology become increasingly common – human-like robots that move purposefully through the warehouse? "Just a matter of time," says Wibrow.

At the same time, KION is increasingly relying on partnerships to increase the speed of innovation. China serves as a test market. "In China, we are observing a strong openness to new technologies and a high speed of innovation. Many developments are created there and are then passed on internationally," explains Wibrow.

With this approach, we at KION help our customers to make existing warehouses fit for the future – without interrupting ongoing operations. "Our customers are increasingly interested in how automation solutions can be implemented quickly and without major interruptions to operations – speed and integration capability are becoming decisive success factors," says Wibrow: "A warehouse cannot afford to stand still for months. Our job is to deliver solutions that can be seamlessly integrated – quickly, efficiently and without interruption."