MIRDC's Bionic Intelligent AGV Fleet System reported news of being awarded on October 29, 2019, in San Francisco local time. The R&D 100 Awards, often praised as the Oscar (Academy) Awards in the sector of technology, nominated 162 technologies on October 23 from worldwide contestants coming from globally renowned industries, research and academic institutions, with a final 100 outstanding Awardees selected from the nominees. The MIRDC, with the support from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, has implemented research findings from the Innovative Foresight Research Program under the Department of Industrial Technology, and among all contestants, the Bionic Intelligent AGV Fleet System has attracted the attention of judges and successfully made its way to the global competition. Aiming to improve and transform domestic industries and to generate growth in next-generation industries, in recent years, the MIRDC has assisted the government by proactively and comprehensively developing the research capability in implementing the upgrade of industries. This recognition achieved by the Bionic Intelligent AGV Fleet System in R&D 100 Awards, has once again brought Taiwanese R&D results to international attention.
Dr. Chiu-Feng Lin, the president of MIRDC, pointed out that the Bionic Intelligent AGV Fleet System developed by the MIRDC possessed three unique features including: wireless intelligence, flexible application, and agile mobility. The Bionic Intelligent AGV Fleet System not only has automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) that can simultaneously control several vehicles in real time, but also can remotely control and connect several vehicles to complete the transporting task. At the same time, the module is equipped with design structure of omnidirectional wheels which can move in 360 degrees, if compared with a traditional transporting model, it possesses outstanding functions that are able to be agilely utilized in narrow indoor spaces that are less accessible by traditional unmanned vehicles. Additionally, for loads with larger and irregular volume, similar tasks can be accomplished by simply adding the loading platforms, or easily solved by the omnidirectional moving platforms. This has not only realized a futuristic intelligent transporting model, but also sketches the blueprint of convenient lifestyle supported by future technologies.
Through the application of the Bionic Intelligent AGV Fleet System, we can increase flexibility in the operation of applied transporting platforms, ensuring that it is fully utilized by the industry. Such technology was also awarded by the German iF Awards, one of the four global major awards on design in 2018, and won the Golden Award in the Competition on Innovation in the 2017 Taipei International Invention Show & Technomart. With “wireless intelligence, flexible application and agile mobility”, the Bionic Intelligent AGV Fleet System can be easily applied in warehousing, production, manufacturing and other relevant industries; it is also compatible with the application of auto-technology such as Industry 4.0 and is able to further develop the market potential of the manufacturers. In the future, the MIRDC will continue to integrate the resources of industry, academic and research sectors domestically, and improve the innovations in technology for the growth of industries, in order to implement and generate the value of Taiwanese industries.