Industrial PC Logistics

Revolution Pi Powers FORMIC's Heavy-Load Swarm Vehicles

Moving heavy machinery and bulky loads through a production facility is no simple task with conventional transport equipment. FORMIC Transportsysteme GmbH from Karlsruhe takes a different approach: a swarm of compact, remotely controlled vehicles that move loads of several tonnes together. For the non-safety-related driving and operating functions, the company relies on Revolution Pi.

Swarm Robotics for Heavy Loads from Formic

Challenge

Coordinated Control Across the Swarm

For the system to work, each vehicle must continuously coordinate its movements with the others. Speed is adjusted in real time and orientation is controlled with precision. To do this, each vehicle processes sensor data and drives the corresponding actuators.

The control hardware needs to handle this reliably. At the same time, the development team wanted an open environment. Proprietary platforms or restricted programming interfaces would slow things down – and that was not an option.

FORMIC was founded in 2020 as a spin-off of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). The team develops modular swarm vehicles for heavy-load transport in industrial intralogistics. Multiple vehicles position themselves flexibly beneath a load, calibrate independently, and move the cargo in sync – as precisely as if they were a single large vehicle.

Two FORMIC swarm vehicles jointly transporting a heavy platform with test weights — Two FORMIC transport vehicles position themselves beneath a load platform carrying heavy test weights and move it synchronously.

Solution

RevPi as an Open Control Platform

For non-safety-related control, FORMIC chose Revolution Pi. Depending on the vehicle type, either the RevPi Core or the RevPi Connect is used, combined with the RevPi DIO and RevPi MIO expansion modules to interface with sensors and actuators.

The deciding factor was the combination of industrial-grade hardware and an open Linux environment. This gives FORMIC the flexibility it needs in software development. The team can develop and deploy its own software components directly on the device. All programming interfaces and configuration tools are openly accessible and well documented. CODESYS is also supported when needed.

FORMIC transport vehicle close-up showing lift mechanism, drive wheels and green status LEDs — Side view of a FORMIC transport vehicle.

Implementation

Precise Control Over Sensors and Actuators

In every FORMIC vehicle, the RevPi base module handles the central control task. It reads sensor data, calculates control commands, and passes them to the actuators. The DIO and MIO modules add the required digital and analog I/O. Configuration via the RevPi tools is straightforward, so the team can test and roll out changes quickly.

Technologies Used:

"The RevPi gives us maximum flexibility and control over both hardware and software. With other controllers, we would quickly run into limitations."
— Dr.-Ing. Maximilian Hochstein, Head of Engineering, FORMIC Transportsysteme GmbH

"RevPi gives us a familiar Linux environment on industrial-grade hardware. Combined with flexible programmability, easy-to-use APIs and configuration tools, plus CODESYS support when needed, we can move fast and stay flexible when it comes to new product features and customer-specific adaptations."
— M.Sc. Tommi Kivelä, Software and Safety Engineering, FORMIC Transportsysteme GmbH

Results & Outlook

An Open Platform for Vehicle Control

Revolution Pi has proven itself as a reliable platform in daily use. The FORMIC team can implement new features and customer-specific adaptations without being constrained by proprietary systems. The open architecture supports the company's iterative development process. FORMIC continues to develop automated formation driving and is expanding its product portfolio step by step. Revolution Pi remains a core part of the vehicle architecture.