Croatia-based Gideon launched a new autonomous forklift for truck trailer loading and unloading operations called “Trey”. Trey loads and unloads pallets autonomously, while saving more than 80% of a loading dock worker’s time. It operates safely, consistently, and reliably in dynamic environments, working collaboratively side-by-side with people.
Gideon closed $31M in Series A funding in June of 2021, and this is the first new product announcement since the influx of investment. The company is also expanding its sales and support worldwide.
“We at Gideon believe that we can help exponentially grow humanity’s ability to move goods by automating the most complex material handling workflows,” said Matija Kopić, Gideon CEO and co-founder. “The world needs new ways of solving challenges. Our new way is to give superpowers to the millions of essential workers who keep our supply chains running. With the help of our customers, partners, and investors, we’ve built an AMR specifically for the task of loading and unloading truck trailers, augmenting human talent,” Kopić said.
The autonomous fork truck combines Gideon’s autonomy technology with a counterbalanced chassis made by partner, Infinity Machine & Engineering Corp (MEC). Infinity MEC is a U.S.-based company with offices in Italy. The solution uses 3D vision for guidance and obstacle avoidance.
The Gideon control software leverages AI with 3D vision, and has been developed and hardened over the last five years on a variety of other autonomous mobile robotic vehicles offered by Gideon. The solution leverages a web-based user interface accessible on any browser.
“The new solution from Gideon brings us an exciting potential for optimization, creating new efficiencies, and new ways to work” said Annant Patel, director at Koch Disruptive Technologies, an investment unit of Koch Industries, and Gideon Board Member. “As new technologies become available, the supply chain challenges act as a catalyst to spur companies to innovate–Gideon being one of them. We may face uncertainties, but innovators like Gideon prove that the future is here and now.”
“Here at DB Schenker, we draw on 150 years of logistic experience, and we’ve always focused on bringing innovation to deliver the efficiency and excellence expected by our clients. This is why we are excited to see new solutions from Gideon. Our projects so far are promising demonstrated, real-potential use cases that help us transform inbound and outbound logistic operations,” said Xavier Garijo, who is also a Gideon Board Member.
Technical Specs
- Trey can carry a payload (counterbalanced) up to 2500 kg (5500 lbs)
- The vehicle dimensions are:Â 409x150x237 cm (160x59x93in)
- Compliance with EU: 2006/42/EC Machinery Directive | ISO 3691-4:2020 and US: ANSI/ITSDF | B56.5-2019 guidelines
- Supported pallet types: CHEP, PECO, GMA, IBC Tote, EPAL1, EPAL3, and other pallet types
- Loading and unloading capacity: 25 pallets per hour, up to 2x higher capacity with two autonomous forklifts operating in tandem
It significantly increases loading dock safety, reducing incidents and damages. Thanks to the flexibility and adaptability of Gideon’s technology, Trey is easy to use, deploy, and scale, with minimal impact on existing infrastructure, further improving the bottom line.
