The Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML, one of the four partner organizations of the Lamarr Institute, was awarded the prestigious German Logistics Award 2023 for the development of the digital twin @ILO. The winning project “Dachser Future Terminal – innovative digital twin @ILO for high-performance general cargo logistics” is the result of the cooperation between Fraunhofer IML and the logistics service provider DACHSER. The name of the digital twin @ILO stands for “Advanced Indoor Localization and Operations” and revolutionizes the processes in goods handling.
The digital twin @ILO not only enables increased transparency in goods handling, but also significantly optimizes and accelerates the individual work steps. This innovation was awarded the German Logistics Prize 2023 by the German Logistics Association (BVL). The @ILO terminal uses special AI-based algorithms that interpret data captured every second by optical scanning units. This enables the automatic identification, localization and, in future, measurement of all packages. The result is an up-to-date image of the warehouse and its processes at all times – a digital twin. Manual scanning of barcodes and additional labeling of packages is no longer necessary, which speeds up incoming and outgoing goods processes by up to 35 percent. The system uses two-dimensional data matrix codes on the top of each package as an identifier. Several hundred optical scanning units in the ceiling area of the halls cover the entire floor and thus ensure transparency in goods handling. This enables all employees, drivers and people in scheduling and customer service to always have up-to-date information about the location of each package.
Another highlight of the @ILO terminal is the fully automatic and permanent measurement of all packages. The volume data obtained can be used by intelligent systems to support drivers and employees in the transshipment warehouse with loading and route planning. This helps to reduce transport kilometers and avoid emissions. The BVL jury praised the project as an innovative concept for efficient general cargo logistics. BVL Chairman Prof. Thomas Wimmer emphasized that a basic problem of general cargo logistics has been successfully solved here.
You can find more information about the @ILO project here:
