Logistics Industry Solutions
Logistics Industry Solutions
Precise ultrasonic sensing for warehousing, handling, sorting and monitoring improves automation accuracy and response speed.
ATHENA ultrasonic sensors provide stable, accurate non-contact measurement of distance, position and height. Their operation is independent of target color, transparency and gloss.
The sensors remain reliable in dust, vapor and fog, under strong ambient light and when detecting dark objects. In logistics applications, they provide precise data for storage, handling, sorting and monitoring systems.
Applications include automated warehouses, conveyor sorting, AGV and AMR transport, unmanned forklifts, liquid-tank monitoring and stack-height measurement, supporting intelligent operation across the logistics chain.
Industries and Applications
- Automated storage: real-time occupied and empty location detection for WMS scheduling
- Conveyor sorting: arrival detection and high-speed sorting triggers
- AGV and AMR: obstacle detection and safe path avoidance
- Unmanned forklifts: pallet-position assistance for reliable fork entry
- Liquid tanks and tankers: non-contact level measurement without manual climbing
- Receiving areas: stack-height monitoring to prevent collapse
- Parcel hubs: package volume measurement and counting
- Cold-chain warehouses: stable position and distance measurement in low-temperature, high-humidity environments
Storage Location Occupancy Detection
Challenge: Dense high-bay storage is inefficient to inspect manually, and occupancy cannot always be synchronized with the WMS in real time. This causes unnecessary stacker-crane travel and reduces throughput.
Solution: ATHENA ultrasonic sensors installed on rack beams measure load presence and height. IO or Modbus signals report each location to the WMS.
Result: Detection accuracy exceeds 99.5%, unnecessary travel falls by about 30%, rack utilization improves by 15%–20%, and payback can be shortened to 12–18 months.
Conveyor Detection and Sorting Triggers
Challenge: Delayed or missed arrival detection causes sorting errors. Photoelectric sensors can misread dark packages, reflective film and transparent materials.
Solution: ATHENA ultrasonic sensors detect packages regardless of color, transparency or surface gloss and trigger pushers or diverter wheels with millisecond response.
Result: Throughput increases by 20%–25%, sorting errors fall from 1.5% to below 0.3%, and routine maintenance costs decrease by about 40%.
AGV and AMR Obstacle Avoidance
Challenge: People, racks, pallets and temporary loads share warehouse space. Limited single-point sensors create blind zones and false alarms that interrupt AGV operation.
Solution: Four ATHENA ultrasonic sensors form a 360° obstacle-detection array. Adjustable sensing reaches up to 4 m across a 30°–80° angle and supplies live distance data for rerouting, deceleration or emergency stopping.
Result: Mixed-traffic accidents decrease by about 85%, AGV uptime improves by 18%, and overall system throughput increases by 12%–15%.
