Autonomous vehicles that swarm across the hall floor at up to ten metres per second and deposit parcels with pinpoint accuracy: it may sound like science fiction at first, but it has already become reality at DPD’s Depot 250 in Cologne-Porz. For a period of two weeks so-called LoadRunners were tested there for their practical suitability under almost realistic conditions. These autonomous transport vehicles have been developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flows and Logistics. And together with the institute, the KION Group would like to bring the autonomous swarm robot to market maturity. In the practical test, DPD Germany is acting as an industrial partner in this exciting project. (....)