Embotech
Assembly Line
Embotech Collaborates with Outsight and Hesai to Power Technology for Automated Vehicle Marshalling (AVM) Systems
Embotech, Outsight, and Hesai Technology collaborate to deliver cutting-edge lidar technology and perception software for Embotech’s AVM technology, deployed in BMW facilities. The AVM system, used in BMW’s production facilities, enables vehicles to be driven fully autonomously from the assembly halls to the finishing area, eliminating the need for human workers to transport vehicles. The collaboration brings together industry leaders in autonomous driving solutions and sensing technology, providing best-in-class technology for AVM, which is safety rated and fulfills the highest performance and availability requirements. The integrated solution is now actively supporting the marshalling of newly manufactured vehicles through various stages of the production and logistics process in three BMW facilities, marking the initial phase in a global rollout to multiple plants across Europe and North America.
Embotech Receives CHF 23.5 M in Funding to Expand Autonomous Driving Solutions for Logistics in Europe and Beyond
Embotech, an innovator in autonomous driving solutions for industrial logistics, has received 23.5 million CHF (~$27 million USD) in Series B funding to help the company scale its Automated Vehicle Marshalling (AVM) and Autonomous Terminal Tractor (ATT) solutions in Europe, and ultimately in the United States, Middle East, and Asia. The funding round is led by Emerald Technology Ventures and Yttrium, with additional funds from BMW i Ventures, Nabtesco Technology Ventures, Sustainable Forward Capital Fund, RKK VC and existing investors.
Embotech, short for embedded optimization technologies, has already secured landmark multi-year rollout contracts for its AVM solution in finished vehicle logistics and its ATT solution for port and yard logistics applications.
For its AVM business, Embotech has signed a multi-year contract with automaker BMW to install its solution in six passenger car factories worldwide by the end of 2025. With the rollout ongoing since late 2023, Embotech’s technology is already driving hundreds of cars per day through final production and is set to scale up to several thousands of vehicles per day in early 2025. The solution is already operational in BMW’s Dingolfing and Leipzig plants with Regensburg currently in progress. By the end of 2025, the technology will also be operational at BMW’s plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Embotech is the only vendor in the market with a certified AVM solution and the only player with experience in a production environment.
New BMW vehicles are guided along a one-kilometer route between two assembly facilities, through a squeak and rattle track, and to the finishing area – with no driver needed at any stage of the journey. The Embotech AVM system requires no changes to the vehicles and uses off-the-shelf LiDAR sensors installed on existing infrastructure. The technology can be adapted for all vehicle models and to changing factory layouts to accommodate growing production volumes and new production layouts. BMW expects to log millions of kilometers over the next decade with this system.
BMWs to Drive Themselves During Production
BMW Group project manager Sascha Andree explained: “Automated driving within the plant is fundamentally different from autonomous driving for customers. It doesn’t use sensors in the vehicle. In fact, the car itself is more or less blind and the sensors for maneuvering them are integrated along the route through the plant.”
Initially, the vehicles will only move through the assembly area and then to a parking area, ready for their onward journey by train or truck. But in reality, it is possible to use the tech as soon as the cars are capable of driving independently in the production process.