In the production of a leading European TV manufacturer, the daily work routine has changed significantly: Where employees previously had to maneuver electrically powered carts through the halls, today autonomous transport robots from KUKA take over the work. At the site in Gorzów Wielkopolski, Poland, a fleet of 22 autonomous mobile robots ensures that materials are reliably moved between storage and
production – and that around the clock.
Automation creates stability in production
TPV Displays Polska is one of the leading manufacturers of television sets in Europe. Numerous industrial robots are already in use in production. However, before the automation of internal material transport, internal transports were heavily dependent on manual activities:
Employees moved TV panels and components with electrically powered carts through the production halls – a time-consuming and physically demanding process. At the same time, the material flow was uneven, difficult to plan, and only limitedly flexible to adapt to new production requirements.
Automated material transport with autonomous robots
With the introduction of 22 autonomous mobile robots, internal transport has been fully automated. The self-driving robots navigate independently through the production environment and take over
central tasks:
They transport TV panels and components from the warehouse to ten assembly lines, return empty packaging, and continuously optimize their routes. The robots work safely side by side with employees and relieve them of physically demanding tasks.
A smooth interplay of robots
Even before the introduction of mobile robots, the company relied on stationary – that is, permanently anchored in the floor – industrial robots. Today, both systems work together to ensure a reliable supply of production. 'The interplay of stationary robots and AMRs increases the efficiency of supplying the assembly lines, enhances flexibility, and integrates material flow and storage into a powerful overall system,' says Grzegorz Benda, Technical Director at TPV Displays Polska.
Smart software ensures plannable processes
The integration of the mobile robots was implemented by the automation specialist Saicon. A central software controls the entire robot fleet, assigns transport tasks, monitors processes in real-time, and optimizes routes and utilization. Thanks to inductive charging, the robots operate almost without interruption in 24/7 operation.
'The seamless integration of the new technology into the existing TPV processes was the central challenge. Our solution fully automated the intralogistics and made it reliably plannable,' explains Łukasz Sobczak, head of the software development team at Saicon.
More transparency and future security
The status of the entire robot fleet is accessible at any time. The data collected helps to analyze processes specifically and continuously optimize them. At the same time, the system is designed to adapt flexibly to future requirements. From KUKA's perspective, the project also demonstrates the potential of the technology:
'The implementation shows that autonomous mobile robots already increase production stability today – through reliable processes, greater transparency in material flow, and better management of intralogistical complexity,' says Mateusz Nowakowski, AMR Business Developer at KUKA Polska. This makes it clear how automated material transport supports companies in establishing their production in a stable, efficient, and future-proof manner in the long term.
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