Two robots named "Ray" independently transport cars from production to an interim storage area as part of a pilot project at the Audi automotive plant in Ingolstadt, Germany.

Ray consists of a frame six meters long and three meters wide. Source: AudiThe robots later place sorted Audi models into position according to their shipping destinations, so that logistics employees can load them onto railway cars, says Audi in a press release.

“The autonomous transport of our automobiles could allow us to eliminate long walking distances for our employees and to improve the ergonomics of their work," says Prof. Dr. Hubert Waltl, Board of Management Member for Production at Audi AG. “Systems like this also have the potential to significantly increase the efficiency of our processes."

Ray consists of a frame six meters long and three meters wide, which uses sensors to determine the position and dimensions of a car and then adjusts to it. The robot grips the wheels and lifts the car as high as 10 centimeters. Control software allocates a space where Ray parks the car. Automobiles up to 5.3 meters long can be moved and stored in a space-saving manner. As soon as a sufficient number of cars are available on the sorting level for a certain destination, the robot moves them into place for shipment .