The heavy-duty AGV track has emerged as a new force, and Haipeng Intelligent Car has accumulated and developed steadily

Combining traditional vehicle manufacturing technology with unmanned vehicles and intelligent driving technology to create products suitable for the market.

Text | Yi Yuqin

With the rapid development of industrial automation, the market's requirements for AGVs are constantly increasing, not only requiring them to have stronger heavy-duty capabilities, but also to have stronger reliability to adapt to a wider range of application fields. In this context, heavy-duty AGVs have become a popular choice for handling in many industrial scenarios. With the increasing demand for such technologies in the market and the continuous progress of technology, some special vehicle companies have begun to join the market competition of heavy-duty AGVs, attempting to explore more opportunities in this field. Among them, Haipeng Zhiche has gradually stood out with its unique technological advantages and innovation capabilities.

More than ten years of technological accumulation, accumulating steadily and developing steadily

Shanghai Haipeng Intelligent Control Vehicle Technology Co., Ltd. (referred to as Haipeng Intelligent Vehicle) is a subsidiary of Jiangsu Haipeng Group Haipeng Special Vehicle Co., Ltd. Haipeng Special Vehicle is a vehicle manufacturing company with professional qualifications mainly engaged in the research and development and production of heavy-duty hydraulic flatbed transport vehicles, self-propelled modular vehicles and other special vehicles. As its subsidiary, Haipeng Zhiche focuses on the research and manufacturing of low-speed unmanned vehicles, with its core products being multi drive omnidirectional unmanned driving line controlled chassis and special AGVs. According to Mr. Cao, the general manager of Haipeng Intelligent Vehicle, as early as 20 years ago, Haipeng began to engage in the research and development and manufacturing of heavy-duty transport vehicles (hydraulic flatbed trucks, self-propelled modular vehicles). With the technical genes and inheritance of heavy-duty vehicles, under the current trend of intelligent and unmanned technology of heavy-duty transfer vehicles, Haipeng took advantage of the opportunity to enter the heavy-duty AGV track.

 

 

From traditional energy to new energy, from manned to unmanned driving, this is the trend of technological development and the evolution direction of market demand. Therefore, it is natural for Haipeng special vehicles to extend towards electric drive and unmanned direction, "said Mr. Cao. Although Haipeng entered the AGV market relatively late, it has actually been exploring and accumulating technology in unmanned handling for many years. Mr. Cao stated that the concept of AGV is not new and has existed for decades. But in China, AGV really became popular more than a decade ago. More than a decade ago, Haipeng began developing and manufacturing unmanned flatbed vehicles, but at that time they were not labeled as AGVs. ”In recent years, Haipeng has officially entered the heavy-duty AGV market, competing with domestic peers. In 2022, Haipeng Intelligent Vehicle was established in Shanghai, specializing in the research and development of heavy-duty AGVs and low-speed heavy-duty unmanned vehicles, while actively attracting relevant talents and technical resources. Although it entered the market relatively late, with years of technological accumulation, Haipeng Intelligent Vehicle was able to quickly establish a foothold in the field of heavy-duty AGVs.

Overcoming technical challenges in the heavy-duty AGV industry

After years of experience in the research and development of heavy-duty hydraulic flatbed trucks and unmanned cargo handling vehicles, Haipeng Intelligent Vehicle has made significant progress in heavy-duty AGV technology, laying a solid foundation for overcoming the technical challenges of heavy-duty AGVs. Mr. Cao pointed out that the market threshold for heavy-duty AGVs is relatively high, and the technical requirements are extremely strict. In order to meet the high standard demands of the market, Haipeng Intelligent Vehicle has conducted technological breakthroughs in multiple key areas. Firstly, the reliability of operation. Once there is a problem with heavy object handling, it often leads to serious accidents, so vehicles must ensure reliability during operation. Next is the durability of the equipment. As an electromechanical product, AGV must have excellent quality and be able to be used for a long time under high load conditions while maintaining a low failure rate. The third is adaptability to the center of gravity. The center of gravity of heavy objects may not always be at the center of the vehicle and may lean to one side. Therefore, AGV must be able to adapt to this center of gravity shift while ensuring stable operation in complex road conditions. Finally, there is the multi vehicle linkage for handling oversized and overweight objects. When transporting oversized and overweight goods, sometimes multiple AGVs need to work together and control multiple vehicles synchronously. In this case, two or more vehicles must run synchronously. Any lack of synchronization between two vehicles may cause objects to twist, deform, slide or be damaged, resulting in significant losses. This multi vehicle synchronization technology is particularly difficult when the distance between two vehicles is large, "said Mr. Cao." The multi vehicle linkage technology with small vehicle distances (within tens of meters) is not difficult, but the difficulty will significantly increase when it comes to multi vehicle linkage with super large vehicle distances. Few companies have the experience and technology to handle multi vehicle synchronization control with synchronized vehicle distances of more than 100 meters. However, Haipeng can solve this problem.

 

 

In multi vehicle synchronous control for long-distance travel, it is impossible for the vehicles participating in the linkage to achieve complete consistency. In addition, due to the irregular and variable height of the road surface, the vehicles participating in the linkage will inevitably experience lateral and longitudinal deviations, and even a tendency to roll during the driving process. The farther the driving distance, the greater the accumulated deviation. When the deviation accumulates to a certain extent, it can cause objects to fall, twist, damage or even damage the vehicle. In the face of overcoming the cumulative deviation caused by large vehicle spacing and long-distance multi vehicle linkage, Haipeng Intelligent Vehicle has its own unique solutions. Mr. Cao emphasized that the technical barrier for heavy-duty AGVs lies not only in the load capacity, but also in the reliability during use and the quality assurance of the vehicle itself. Being able to adapt to eccentric loads and ensure long-term reliable operation is a deeper technical requirement. Through continuous technological innovation and rich practical experience, Haipeng Intelligent Vehicle has successfully overcome several technical challenges in the heavy-duty AGV industry, providing customers with reliable and efficient solutions for heavy object handling. Overall, the characteristic of the Haipeng AGV lies in its excellent heavy-duty performance, as its slogan goes: "Make moving with heavy loads a pleasure." In high load situations, the Haipeng heavy-duty AGV still maintains high performance, and this performance is due to its stable and reliable product operation, as well as flexible and precise control technology. Through continuous technological breakthroughs in the heavy-duty performance of AGVs, Haipeng Intelligent Vehicle has developed a unique AGV technology route with a rich product line covering multiple scenarios. Mr. Cao introduced that Haipeng Intelligent Vehicle has a wide variety of AGV models, currently mainly covering the following product series:
1.Flagship model - Multi drive omnidirectional adaptive road surface heavy-duty AGV: Based on more than 20 years of technological accumulation by Haipeng, this model integrates advanced technologies such as omnidirectional multi drive, adaptive road surface, and intelligent suspension. Omnidirectional multi drive allows the vehicle to travel in any direction, and multiple drive units are synchronously controlled to achieve higher load capacity. The load of this model ranges from 60 tons to 600 tons. Adaptive road surface and intelligent suspension technology ensure that vehicles can still run smoothly on uneven roads. The organic combination of multiple technologies enables the vehicle to maintain high performance even under high load conditions.

 

 

2. Multi drive model: This model is a simplified version of the flagship model, equipped with multi drive functions, but does not have adaptive road active suspension technology, so its cost is relatively low and suitable for budget limited application scenarios.
3. Ackermann chassis AGV: This type of vehicle adopts the Ackermann chassis design, which can carry heavy objects but cannot move in all directions. Its main characteristics are fast driving speed and low cost, suitable for markets that require economical heavy object handling.
4. Port IGV: a vehicle specifically designed for handling containers at port terminals, with load capacities ranging from 20 tons to 120 tons. According to Mr. Cao, this model has been practically applied in ports and has performed excellently.

 

 

5. Special AGV for switchgear production line: This vehicle is designed specifically for intelligent switchgear production lines. Its characteristics include omnidirectional walking, ultra-low body height, and large unit area load. It can handle a weight of 2.5 to 3 tons and adapt to the center of gravity offset of different batches of switchgear, meeting high standard eccentric load requirements. Mr. Cao stated that after multiple technological iterations, the vehicle is basically able to perfectly complete the fast transfer tasks of different switchgear production lines, and has formed a certain influence in the industry, being considered a top product in this field.

 

 

Mr. Cao further pointed out that the Haipeng models are widely used and involve multiple industries, including military, wind power, shipbuilding, ports, and engineering machinery, and have already had multiple successful cases.

Multi pronged approach of heavy load, extreme harsh environment, and explosion-proof performance

Haipeng Zhiche's products are mostly used in outdoor scenes. Compared to indoor environments, the operation of AGVs in outdoor environments faces more complex challenges. In order to address these challenges, Haipeng Intelligent Vehicle not only focuses on heavy loads, but also adopts a multi pronged strategy, making breakthroughs in multiple technologies.

 

 

In terms of navigation methods, Haipeng Smart Car adopts flexible and diverse navigation methods based on customer needs and the characteristics of different road conditions. Haipeng has experience in using various technologies such as SLAM, QR code, ribbon, magnetic navigation, visual navigation, UWB, INS+GNNS, etc. In the case of closed roads, the unmanned vehicle transportation system is relatively simple, and the navigation method is relatively simple to ensure that the vehicle does not deviate from the route. But if there are pedestrians and other vehicles on the road, especially in mixed traffic situations, a comprehensive solution of L4 level intelligent driving system, vehicle road coordination system, and intelligent scheduling system with multi-sensor fusion needs to be adopted to ensure the safety and orderliness of transportation. During outdoor operations, AGVs are often affected by harsh weather and extreme temperatures, and Haipeng has taken various measures to address this issue. For example, in low temperature conditions of minus 40 degrees Celsius, Haipeng Intelligent Vehicle will add an adaptive temperature control system to resist frost and fog problems caused by sudden switching between low and high temperature environments, in order to ensure the normal operation of AGV. Mr. Cao stated that Haipeng Intelligent Vehicle has rich experience in the research and manufacturing of special environment vehicles, and is particularly familiar with the needs of military industry. About one-third of the company's products are supplied for military use. Haipeng is a company with national qualifications for weapons and equipment manufacturing and confidentiality. Its products can be designed according to military standards, and its supply chain fully adapts to military requirements, including electrical, control, display, and sensing aspects. In addition, some special industries have higher requirements for the explosion-proof performance of AGVs. Haipeng Zhiche has both its own modification experience and cooperation with professional explosion-proof modification companies in the field of explosion-proof technology. Mr. Cao said, "We also have certain advantages in the explosion-proof technology of heavy-duty AGVs. Over the years, our technical team and partners have conducted a lot of research on explosion-proof environment AGVs. ”The adaptability to harsh environments enables Haipeng products to have stronger competitiveness and adaptability in the market. As Mr. Cao said, "Some companies can do explosion-proof, but they may not be able to handle heavy-duty, high and low temperature explosion-proof. And we have three technologies in one, which is also one of our advantages.

Practical management to achieve rapid growth

In the current AGV market, various industries are generally more sensitive to costs, and price wars have become the norm of industry competition. However, special industries such as military and aerospace have relatively low sensitivity to costs, which provides good development opportunities and economic benefits for enterprises with military qualifications such as Haipeng Intelligent Vehicle. Mr. Cao pointed out in the interview that Haipeng is well aware that cost control is an eternal issue for products to make a difference in the civilian market. Haipeng Zhiche has been making continuous efforts in cost control. From the bidding results of some specific projects in recent years, it can be seen that the price level of Haipeng Intelligent Vehicle is still competitive compared to several active heavy-duty AGV peers in China. The annual procurement amount of Haipeng special vehicles is close to 500 million yuan, and the mature supply chain system and relatively low procurement costs honed over the past 20 years have laid a low-cost foundation for heavy-duty AGVs. In addition, Haipeng R&D personnel continuously innovate and improve in system design, achieving the best cost-effectiveness from the design end. Also, Haipeng Zhiche is manufactured at the Jiangyin manufacturing base and controls product production costs through a mature and excellent production management system. Based on the above cost control strategies, Haipeng Intelligent Vehicle can effectively maintain its cost advantage. Haipeng is a private enterprise that relies on independent funds and a sound profit model for development. The pragmatic and steady business style has enabled Haipeng Smart Car to maintain a good development momentum and sustainable vitality in the market. At present, Haipeng Zhiche is in a period of rapid growth from small to large quantities. Mr. Cao introduced that compared to the same period last year, the performance growth of Haipeng Intelligent Car is quite significant. In the first half of this year, we significantly increased our customer base and showed a significant growth trend.

The latecomers actively explore new blue oceans

Although Haipeng Intelligent Vehicle has only officially entered the heavy-duty AGV track in recent years, Mr. Cao believes that the company should not be called a latecomer, but rather a latecomer. For the future planning and layout of the company's AGV business, Haipeng Zhiche will continue to focus on two aspects: on the one hand, promoting AGV among its existing customer base and achieving unmanned replacement. Haipeng's traditional hydraulic flatbed transport vehicles have a large number of customers and a high market share in industries such as military, metallurgy, shipbuilding, and ports, and are now promoting heavy-duty AGVs in these fields. On the other hand, actively exploring new markets. The company is still exploring emerging markets such as wind power, construction machinery, and energy storage. Despite fierce competition in these markets, Mr. Cao believes that there are still great opportunities. The demand for AGVs in these emerging markets is growing rapidly, but a fully mature market pattern has not yet formed. Therefore, for us, this is a huge development opportunity. ”Mr. Cao stated.

 

 

In addition, compared to companies that focus on a single AGV technology, Haipeng Intelligent Vehicle has relatively comprehensive technological advantages brought by its two product lines of AGV and low-speed unmanned vehicles. Mr. Cao believes that current autonomous driving enterprises are mainly divided into two categories. One type is companies that start with software, with founding teams typically composed of young artificial intelligence experts who possess strong innovation capabilities and software development advantages, but lack manufacturing experience. The other type is companies from traditional car manufacturers, who have a good understanding of vehicles and manufacturing, but have relatively weak accumulation in the fields of artificial intelligence, robotics, and automation, so their ability to customize non-standard products is slightly insufficient. Whether it is low-speed unmanned vehicles or heavy-duty AGVs, the characteristics of non-standard customization requirements are very obvious. Haipeng Intelligent Vehicle combines the advantages of both, with its technical team covering experts from multiple fields. It successfully integrates the concepts, methodologies, and manufacturing processes of traditional vehicle research and development with robotics, artificial intelligence, and automation technologies to develop high-performance and highly reliable AGV products. At the same time, the team has strong non-standard customization capabilities and can meet various customization needs in the market. This technological integration not only enhances the level of artificial intelligence technology in AGVs, but also ensures their stability and reliability compared to traditional vehicles. ”Mr. Cao summarized. Relying on an open and inclusive corporate culture, as well as comprehensive technological advantages, Haipeng Zhiche is able to flexibly respond to the challenges and needs of various industries. In the future, Haipeng Zhiche will continue to increase research and development investment, continuously improve product performance and service quality, and actively expand into emerging markets.

Conclusion: In the development process of Haipeng Intelligent Vehicle, "integration" has always been the core concept. By combining traditional vehicle manufacturing technology with unmanned vehicles and intelligent driving technology, Haipeng Intelligent Vehicle continuously promotes product innovation. Its flexibility and openness enable it to respond more effectively to market changes. In the current mobile robot market, the integration of technology is also an important development direction. Enterprises should continue to increase their investment in technological innovation and research and development, pay attention to cutting-edge technologies such as autonomous driving, artificial intelligence, and robotics, and apply them to product development to enhance product performance and market competitiveness, ultimately promoting the sustainable development of the company.