Kick-off for the CoboTank project at DST
21 July 2022 10:41
The project ‘Development and testing of collaborative and automated robotic systems to support the loading process of tankers’ (CoboTank for short) started with a kick-off event in Duisburg.
The project deals with future-proof, automated solutions in the field of liquid cargo handling in German inland ports, an area of the inland shipping industry that is currently characterised by manual, physically demanding and error-prone work. Together with the partners from Garant Mineralölhandelsgesellschaft mbH, Deymann Tankrode Logistics GmbH, Hafen Hamburg Marketing e. V., Mercatronics GmbH and the Chair of General Psychology and the Chair of Mechatronics at the University of Duisburg-Essen, a semi-automated cobot and a fully automated robot will be developed in the project. The use of a cobot promises increased process reliability, the best possible occupational safety and improved ergonomic aspects, while the robot will demonstrate the possibilities for automating the loading process.
The consortium partners are also supported by associated partners, the Bundesverband der Deutschen Binnenschifffahrt e. V. (BDB) and the Unabhängigen Tanklagerverband e. V. (UTV). The consortium is led by the Development Centre for Ship Technology and Transport Systems e.V. (DST) in Duisburg.
The Cobot, which is to be demonstrated on a real scale at the European Security Centre Duisburg e. V. at the Schiffer-Berufskolleg RHEIN, will initially be tested on a scale of 1:10 at the DST's Test Centre for Innovative Port and Handling Technology (HaFoLa). The CoboTank project is therefore the first application project in which the newly created test infrastructure will be used at the DST.
At the kick-off event on 4 July 2022, the consortium met together for the first time in the presence of representatives of the project sponsor. In addition to the general project organisation, initial technical discussions were held at the event and planning began for the first reference visits to the relevant facilities. The event was rounded off with a guided tour of the test facilities at the DST and a visit to the tank section of the European Safety Centre Duisburg e. V. at the RHEIN Skippers' Vocational College.
The project is funded by the IHATEC II programme of the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV).
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