Xpert.Digital brought Virtual Reality to FachPack

Welcome to the virtual world!

At this year's FachPack trade fair, Kardex Remstar once again presented its wide range of automated storage and retrieval solutions for businesses. For the first time, virtual presentation techniques were used, offering visitors entirely new insights into intralogistics. In addition to the traditional trade fair booth, three additional virtual reality headsets and augmented reality technologies were employed, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in the company's virtual reality environment.

Using VR headsets, interested parties embarked on an animated 360° flight through the Kardex Remstar product world. Head movements or finger navigation allowed them to control the direction and access individual features of the storage and retrieval systems in detail.

The image displayed through the glasses was simultaneously projected onto a large screen, allowing bystanders to share in the experience. In addition to showcasing the warehouse equipment, visitors could also learn more about sort2ship, an innovative order picking solution developed by Kardex Remstar for AHP Merkle GmbH . This created a simulation at the booth using quasi-realistic images, giving viewers the feeling of being right in the middle of the action. Alexandra Jung, Media & Content Manager at Kardex Remstar, was pleased with the results of the new presentation format: “With these glasses, we give booth visitors the opportunity to experience our systems in a completely new way.”

In addition to VR headsets, augmented reality played a key role at the booth. The AR presentation focused on the Vertical Buffer Module LR35. This new development from Kardex Remstar helps accelerate small parts picking in high-throughput warehouses. Using an app, interested parties could scan an image of the LR35 on one of eight iPad Airs or three iPad Pro tablets provided, generating a three-dimensional view on their screen.

With a tap of their finger, they could rotate the device view as desired and zoom in on details. Another tap removed the system's casing, allowing viewers a detailed look at the storage processes inside the device. This vivid form of virtual representation opens up entirely new presentation avenues for the manufacturer. "Space at trade fairs is limited, and then there's the complex setup of our large-format systems. Augmented reality allows us to present the advantages of our systems flexibly and in the smallest of spaces," says Alexandra Jung.

A special feature of the app (available for iOS and Android): Users can access the augmented reality representation of the Vertical Buffer Module from anywhere. All they need is a printout of the scan template. They simply point their smartphone or tablet camera at it, and the three-dimensional model of the machine is generated. The manufacturer plans to present other systems in this way in the future.

The advantages of presenting Kardex Remstar's storage and retrieval systems using VR headsets and AR technology are obvious: The large storage units can be vividly demonstrated in a very small space. Features such as 360-degree views or virtual operation of the systems can be integrated into the presentation, giving users a detailed insight into the system's workflows. In a later phase, it would also be possible to incorporate individual, customer-specific adjustments into the model to scale. This makes describing and explaining the functionality, as well as understanding it, much easier, making visualization using AR and VR technologies a completely new level of experience for both customers and providers.

The integration of VR and AR at FachPack was just the beginning for Kardex Remstar. It will be interesting to see what the intralogistics provider comes up with for future trade fairs.