TU Graz with Project on Handling Polybags in the Parcel Sector

Anyone who orders something online wants the package to be delivered reliably, quickly, and intact. The significant increase in the number of so-called “polybags” in recent years – conditionally stable (flexible) postal shipments with flexible packaging – has increasingly made it difficult for logistics providers to offer this service. Unlike rigid cardboard packages, polybags change their shape during transport, disrupting reliable automatic sorting.

(Graz) The Institute of Technical Logistics at TU Graz, the Austrian Post, and the company Körber have taken on this issue in the project ISAAK, funded by the Research Promotion Agency FFG. Using realistic physical simulations, they have developed a solution that can also be used beyond postal shipments.

Parcel Volume Requires Automation

“Especially for shipments from the Far East, the number of polybags has significantly increased in recent years due to lower costs,” explains project leader Christian Landschützer from the Institute of Technical Logistics at TU Graz. “To handle the large volumes, logistics providers sort the shipments automatically, and with the method we have developed, this is now more reliable with polybags than before. As far as we know, we are currently the only ones in the world addressing this issue.”

With the method that allows the behavior of a polybag to be simulated physically accurately, a shipment can now be tracked, recognized, physically described, and sorted much better during its journey through a logistics center. The practical aspect of the solution is that it can be applied to numerous other deformable containers with loose contents in the form of bulk or piece goods. It is also future-proof, as upcoming changes in packaging materials can be simulated as well.

Measurement in Ongoing Operations

To develop the realistic simulation, it was first necessary to determine what types of postal shipments are in transit. For this, the researchers had to measure numerous shipments and describe their characteristics – and this had to be done during the ongoing operations of a parcel center, as they could not take the packages for examination. The various types of packages were grouped by the research team into classes – so-called clusters – and they set about recreating these classes.

With the replicas, tests were conducted at the Körber test facility on Lake Constance. The test results provided the data for calibrating the parameters of the simulation model. This was created using modern multi-body dynamic and mechanical-physical simulation methods that can accurately depict the real behavior of a shipment. Of particular interest are the forces that can be analyzed with this method, which act on the shipments. The clusters and their realistic simulation can now be used by logistics providers to improve the recognition and processing of shipments in their sorting facilities. Manufacturers of conveyor technology, such as project partner Körber, use the insights for the new and further development of systems within a virtual environment.

Follow-up Project on Shipment Interaction in Progress

“Although the issue of deformable packaging comes from the postal sector, it was important for us to view the topic from a fundamental research perspective to find a solution for multiple application areas. This way, various sectors can benefit from our results,” says Christian Landschützer. The research results of the ISAAK project are now to be used by the Institute of Technical Logistics for a follow-up project that is already in preparation. Instead of just one, several polybags and their interaction will be simulated to further improve the description of shipments in the sorting process.

This research project is anchored in the Field of Expertise “Mobility & Production” , one of five strategic focus areas of TU Graz.

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