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BMW Group Plant Dingolfing and Landshut University of Applied Sciences are developing a smart logistics solution
Mon Feb 10 18:00:00 CET 2025 Press Release
+++ Increasing efficiency through digitization: counting empty containers through AI +++ Cooperation with students +++
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Thomas Niedermeier
BMW Group
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Sarah Koehler
BMW Group
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Dingolfing. Increasing efficiency through digitization: In a successful cooperation between BMW Group Plant Dingolfing and Landshut University of Applied Sciences, students have developed an innovative solution for plant logistics. The new digital tool automates the counting of empty containers using artificial intelligence (AI), saving time and avoiding errors.
Looking for simple automation
At the BMW Group Plant Dingolfing, around 1,600 different types
of containers are in circulation every day, transporting parts for
vehicle production. Until now, these containers were counted manually,
which was time-consuming and prone to errors. “Our goal was to
automate empties counting as efficiently and simply as possible,”
explains Wolfgang Schratzenstaller, project manager at the BMW Group
Plant in Dingolfing.
Cooperation with Landshut University
The idea of involving students from Landshut University of
Applied Sciences in the project met with a positive response.
“Students bring in new perspectives and unbiased approaches,” says
Schratzenstaller. Prof. Dr. Abdelmajid Khelil, head of the IoT
Innovation Lab at Landshut University, supported the project as part
of a practical teaching module. The collaboration began with the
summer semester 2024.
Mobile video instead of mental arithmetic
Within three months, the eight-person team developed a cost-effective and efficient solution. A simple mobile phone video, taken while running through the rows with the containers, is sufficient to determine the exact number per container variant. “QR codes are placed above the block storage lanes, which link to a database of container data. The AI analyses the video and calculates the number of containers,” explains Dominik Dama, an IT master's student.
Outlook and development
The counting system is currently in the pilot phase to test its performance under real conditions. In the future, the solution will also be used in other areas of plant logistics. It is also planned to further automate the counting process by using autonomous Smart Transport Robots (STR) to record the videos.