(IBS AG: Höhr-Grenzhausen, Germany) -- IBS AG has successfully implemented its new Tool Assistance System (TAS) at BMW’s production plant in Regensburg, Germany. The TAS is based on the Location Identification System (LIS), which, as the name suggests, is a system for locating and identifying industrial goods. LIS/TAS was developed as a joint software product by general contractors IBS and Ubisense. The development of the LIS/TAS system is based on the integration of the Ubisense real-time location system with the IBS quality management software system. The IBS software mediates between the Ubisense location system and the other existing IT systems in use at BMW.

The Tool Assistance System, successfully implemented in Regensburg, is designed to enable the automatic identification of vehicles in the assembly process, and the automatic assignment of each vehicle to computer-assisted process equipment (screw-driving/inspection devices). The entire manual scanning process will be replaced, eliminating nonvalue-added activities and error prone manual allocations. LIS/TAS will first and foremost support BMW in the production line area of vehicle assembly. The allocation of process equipment and devices to each vehicle is based on an analysis of the real-time spatial relationship between the vehicle and the equipment. The allocation relies on the vehicle entering a predefined zone or, in the case of moving equipment, the allocation is carried out as the equipment approaches the vehicle.

The LIS/TAS application has been embedded in BMW’s IT landscape with IBS communication software supporting all necessary interfaces with the other systems being used. In this particular case, it is designed to manage and administer tools and transmit allocation events to the automated screw-driver device control center. Following allocation of the tool to the vehicle, LIS/TAS triggers the respective vehicle-specific assembly order and the corresponding assembly programs. The assembly order for the vehicle is loaded onto the corresponding tool or equipment in real-time. In this context, tools and equipment involve such things as automated screw-drivers, riveting tools, and filling equipment.

The new system at the Regensburg plant covers approximately 1,000 vehicles a day and 120 automated screw-drivers in the assembly area. The location of each vehicle is determined in 3-D using a tag attached to each vehicle. These tags are miniature transponders, which transmit information on their position to fixed-mounted sensors, using ultra-wide band radio technology. Approximately 400 sensors are mounted along a 1.2 km section of the assembly line at the Regensburg plant. The location and identification data produced is then received, processed, and directly transferred to the BMW IT infrastructure. The ultra-wide-band radio technology locates vehicles and equipment precisely thanks to the transmission of very short pulses with an extremely low output (less than 0.1 milliwatt per m²). This low output means there is no impact on other systems or employee health.