BMW to Pilot 'Autonomous Driving in Production Plants' with Seoul Robotics and EmboTech

Introduced to BMW Group Dingolfing Plant Starting This Month

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] BMW Group announced on the 21st that it will conduct a pilot operation of the ‘Autonomous Factory Walking (AFW)’ project, which moves vehicles without drivers during the production process, in collaboration with Korean startup Seoul Robotics and Swiss company Embotech.

BMW Group’s AFW is a pilot project that enables vehicles to move safely and efficiently without drivers within logistics and assembly areas. This new system, introduced this month at BMW Group’s Dingolfing plant, will be first tested on two models: the BMW New 7 Series and the all-electric BMW i7.

Sasha Andri, BMW Group Project Manager, explained, “Autonomous driving within the production factory is fundamentally different from autonomous driving systems for consumers because it does not use sensors inside the vehicle. All sensors used in this project are installed along the routes throughout the factory, so the vehicle itself is almost like it has its eyes closed.”

The AFW project operates with two core technologies. First, sensors installed as infrastructure within the production factory detect vehicle positions and obstacles, while driving planning software sends driving commands wirelessly to the driverless vehicles. Through this technology, vehicles autonomously move from the assembly area to the logistics area and then wait for transportation.

This project utilizes core technologies from two companies, Seoul Robotics and Embotech, supported by the BMW Startup Garage.

First, Seoul Robotics’ LiDAR detection software perfectly digitizes the real environment through fixed monitoring sensors and performs object classification and vehicle position identification. Embotech’s driving planning software enables vehicles to steer, brake, accelerate, and park without a driver. Driving routes are calculated in real time without the need for training or programming according to the situation, and each vehicle can independently respond to its surrounding environment.

Hanbin Lee, CEO of Seoul Robotics, said, “It is probably the first time in history that an OEM company like BMW Group and two young startups collaborate on a single project.” Alexander Domahidi, Co-founder and CTO of Embotech, stated, “Without the BMW Startup Garage, we would not have even been able to evaluate and test our solution.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.