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Pallets primarily serve one purpose: as load carriers, they move items from A to B. But what if they could be more than just load carriers? The project “Pal2Rec,” which started in February 2024, investigates how (Euro) pallets can autonomously be integrated into logistical processes through sensor-based activity recognition.
(Dortmund) Pallets also generate movement or mobility data (e.g., through QR codes). However, this data has always needed to be contextualized with accompanying information such as camera images. The research project “Pal2Rec” (Sensor-based logistical activity recognition of (Euro) pallets) now examines whether the movement data of pallets can be recognized and interpreted using sensors. This would not only provide a completely new data foundation for logistical processes but also offer entirely new analytical possibilities.
The project is funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) as part of the innovation initiative mFUND with approximately 181,000 euros. The Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML is researching as the consortium coordinator in collaboration with the Chair of Conveying and Storage Technology (FLW) at the Technical University of Dortmund until October 2024. The goal is to demonstrate the feasibility that logistical processes can be interpreted and reproduced through the additional sensor data.
Cooperation with industrial partners
To provide this proof, the researchers will equip a demonstrator pallet with the necessary sensors. In an experimental framework, they aim to determine which sensors are particularly suitable and what data should be collected. In cooperation with industrial partners, the process steps that will be the focus of data collection will be identified. Based on this, the researchers will develop a script that enables data processing and manual activity recognition. Finally, the findings will be tested extensively under real conditions.
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