Toyota in Microsoft Link-Up at Hannover Messe

Toyota Material Handling is linking up with Microsoft at Hannover Messe this week (Hall 7, Stand C40).

Last year, Toyota Material Handling showed a first preview of its future logistics vision at the Microsoft booth: ‘A.I.TeamLogistics’ was its concept for connected vehicles with on-board intelligence working as teams to deliver a continuous flow and optimised logistics operations. The Pallet drone vehicle was equipped with Azure Cognitive Services as an enabler in helping Toyota to realise its vision, using Microsoft HoloLens to visualise some scenarios. This allowed visitors to experience how the Pallet drone viewed its surroundings thanks to vision-based technology replacing traditional scanner technology.

First presented as the 2028 vision, this year Toyota Material Handling is bringing the realisation of the concept forward to 2020. The vehicles are presented on the booth in a scaled size, completing a demo based on a 3D scan of a warehouse. This allows the machines to train to navigate within the digital twin of the warehouse environment, continuously optimising its performance, all thanks to Azure Machine Learning (trained by reinforcement). Once deployed, the vehicle will continuously improve, with an understanding of its route based on its (moving) surroundings thanks to the onboard intelligence. HoloLens allows human beings to interact with the autonomous vehicles thanks to the ability to view the information coming from these machines.