This is a vehicle that makes absolute sense.

By Gary S. Vasilash

If you’ve ever been in an automotive plant you’ve undoubtedly been surprised by the number of forklift trucks zipping around that are transporting parts, equipment and various other things that go into building things.

The BMW Group Plant Regensburg is quite similar to other state-of-the-art factories. . .but then there’s this, which apparently is something that doesn’t exist elsewhere: Its uses of an electric lidar-equipped transport vehicle.

What’s notable is not only that this is an autonomous vehicle, but that it transports payloads up to 55 tonnes.

It operates at speeds up to 2.5 mph.

“Not fast,” you think. But (1) it is inside a facility where people are working, so speed is relative, and (2) it is carrying up to 55 tonnes of steel—not the sort of thing you want to bump into.

The autonomous vehicle operates in the factory’s stamping operation. It is used to transport tools for the presses—there are four press lines that turn some 1,100 tonnes of steel into approximately 131,000 stamped parts (e.g., side frames, door outers, hoods) per day—as well as steel blanks that are turned into those parts.