China’s Leapting, a developer of robotic automation solutions for the PV industry, has unveiled a new autonomous forklift for utility-scale solar construction sites.
Dubbed Auto-Navigation Forklift Robot (AFR), the system can transport pallets of solar modules weighing up to 3,000 kg from laydown yards to installation rows without a human operator.
“The AFR combines GPS-RTK, laser-based simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), and 3D computer vision to locate pallets, identify fork-hole coordinates in real time, and auto-plan insertion paths,” the company said in a statement. “It further features 360-degree multi-line LiDAR, intelligent obstacle avoidance, and a three-tier braking system.”
The navigation system combines high-precision GNSS-RTK positioning with SLAM for local perception and positioning corrections. According to the manufacturer, the system can identify pallet locations, orientation angles and the three-dimensional coordinates of fork openings in real time. It then automatically calculates insertion and extraction paths and adjusts the mast and forks for pallet handling.
The company said the system can also detect whether pallets contain materials and recognize common pallet standards, including European EUR/EPAL and Japanese JIS specifications.
The AFR measures 4.8 m × 1.8 m × 2.15 m and weighs 5,500 kg. It has a standard load center distance of 600 mm and a maximum lifting height of 3 m. Its two-stage, full-free-lift mast features laterally adjustable forks for precise pallet alignment, the company said.
The forklift uses a tracked chassis with two independently driven 4 kW motors. It reaches a maximum speed of 3 km/h when fully loaded and 4 km/h when unloaded, with adjustable driving speeds.
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