ASI’S SCYTHE ACQUISITION AMPLIFIES AUTONOMOUS OFF-ROAD VEHICLE LEADERSHIP

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Autonomous Yard Shifting 101- ASI Revolutionizes Yard Shifting

Autonomous yard shifting uses trucks from different OEMs to perform daily tasks and routines without the need for a driver in the cab. As a result, it offers the ability to oversee and control operations of multiple trucks from a control room onsite, or thousands of miles away. The industry’s most capable and proven command and control software, Mobius, integrated with Yard Management Software (YMS), and Vehicle Automation Kits (VAK) make autonomous yard shifting a reality. When combined, these solutions enable yard shifting to run at its highest potential, around the clock, without breaks, little maintenance, and scheduled repairs.

Yard shifting can be dull, dirty, and dangerous at times, but often is the most integral part of the supply chain. Bottlenecks and hazards at yard shifting facilities mean lost revenue, time, and resources. Consequently, a company is only as efficient as its weakest link in the supply chain, and often that weak link is in the yard shifting environment. Safety, driver shortages, inefficient use of time, improper scheduling, and the logistics of overseeing a yard are some of the major problems in the yard shifting industry.

The solution to these problems lies in autonomy. Automation in yard shifting offers a consistent, safe, and highly efficient solution to manage your facility’s operations while reducing the number of obstacles to achieve peak efficiency.

Who is ASI and what they are doing?

For over 20 years Autonomous Solutions Inc. (ASI) has been the industry leader in vehicle automation. ASI strives to help organizations reach their potential through innovative robotic solutions.  Above all, ASI provides safer, more efficient, and cost-effective solutions to improve many aspects of yard shifting.

ASI employs the most experienced team of engineers when it comes to vehicle automation.  With our 20+ years of experience, onsite testing tracks, and over 1,000 deployed automated vehicles throughout the world, ASI is the clear choice for yard shifting automation.  With partnerships including Terberg, AutoCar, FANUC, and Phantom Auto, ASI offers a proven solution with any type of yard truck. As a result, diesel, electric, and drive-by-wire yard trucks can be made autonomous through leveraging ASI’s technologies and experience.

ASI has automated vehicles with Ford Motor Company, Luke Air Force Base and Rio Tinto, and has extended that knowledge and technical expertise into yard shifting automation. A key ingredient to ASI’s automation success is our advanced automation software Mobius.  Mobius has been in development for over 20 years and has been an integral part of every vehicle we have automated. ASI has invested millions of dollars, data, and hours into Mobius and refining vehicle automation to create the best yard shifting solution on the market today. The future of yard shifting is here, and ASI is excited to share it with the world.

ASI autonomous yard shifting truck

About ASI

 Autonomous Solutions, Inc. (ASI) is a world leader in industrial vehicle automation. ASI serves clients across the world in mining, agriculture, automotive, government, and manufacturing industries with remote control, teleoperation, and fully automated solutions from its headquarters and 100-acre proving ground in northern Utah.

Partnership to Deploy Unmanned Yard Trucks

Video of the unmanned yard truck solution: https://youtu.be/vZzrJJknpOU

 
Mendon, Utah; Mountain View, California; and Benschop, Netherlands – A new fully unmanned yard truck solution combines the expertise of four companies: Autonomous Solutions, Inc. (ASI), a world leader in vehicle automation; Phantom Auto, the leading provider of remote communication software for unmanned vehicles; FANUC America Corporation, the world leader in robotics, CNC systems, and factory automation; and Terberg, a world renowned truck manufacturer.

ASI’s Mobius® software gives operators real-time awareness and control of a fleet of unmanned trucks, each of which is driven by ASI’s proven autonomous vehicle technology. Phantom Auto’s remote communication layer provides a reliable link between the Mobius software and the trucks over any network, enabling monitoring, tele-assistance, and tele-driving. The Mobius application gets orders from an operator or management system, plans a path for a truck to pick up and drop off a trailer, and sends the plan to the truck. The Terberg yard truck, with automation-ready drive-by-wire electronic controls, is driven by ASI software to the trailer or dock. There, a FANUC robotic arm uses proprietary technology to connect or disconnect the pneumatic brake line to the trailer, making this a truly end-to-end solution. By making high-quality, real-time control possible across broad geographic coverage areas, ASI’s unmanned yard truck solution increases its customers’ vehicle operational efficiency and operational design domains.

The unmanned yard truck solution is:

  1. vehicle-agnostic, so customers can work with their existing fleet and preferred yard truck brand;
  2. hardware-agnostic and easy to integrate, so that customers can use the solution without overhauling their vehicle hardware architecture; and
  3. requires no modifications to trailers in order to obtain air line connections.

“With both Phantom and ASI’s technology combined into one product, we believe we have the most scalable end-to-end solution in the market, enabling our yard truck customers to get out of a sandbox environment and into actual deployments,” said Mel Torrie, founder and CEO of ASI. “Phantom is excited to partner with one of the top autonomy providers to continue deploying unmanned vehicles across the logistics market,” said Shai Magzimof, founder and CEO of Phantom Auto. Added Elliot Katz, co-founder of Phantom Auto: “With our yard truck solution, we are proving once again that autonomy combined with remote operation can get unmanned vehicles deployed today.”

About ASI

ASI is a world leader in industrial vehicle automation. ASI serves clients around the world in the mining, agriculture, automotive, government, and manufacturing industries, with fully automated solutions from its headquarters and 100-acre proving ground in northern Utah.

About Phantom Auto

Founded in 2017 in Silicon Valley by a team of real-time networking and robotics experts, Phantom Auto specializes in the operation of unmanned vehicles with customers throughout the world. Phantom Auto’s software enables a human to remotely tele-monitor, tele-assist, and/or tele-drive fleets of unmanned vehicles from up to thousands of miles away. For more information on Phantom Auto, please visit: https://phantom.auto/

About Terberg Corporation

Founded in 1869, Terberg has a worldwide presence operating in over 120 countries worldwide and are supported by a network of international distributors and Terberg branches. Terberg focusses on innovation and is the trendsetter in the yard shifting market. For more information about Terberg, please visit: https://www.terbergbenschop.nl/en/

About FANUC America Corporation

FANUC America Corporation is a subsidiary of FANUC CORPORATION in Japan, and provides industry-leading robotics, CNC systems, and factory automation. FANUC’s innovative technologies and proven expertise help manufacturers in the Americas maximize productivity, reliability and profitability. For more information please visit: https://www.fanucamerica.com