September 2, 2021 – As a prelude to the IAA Mobility 2021 in Munich, the Finnish deep technology company Unikie and the automotive service provider Valmet Automotive, are developing an innovative logistics solution at the car plant site in Uusikaupunki, Finland. Testing and validating the Automated Factory Parking technology, developed by Unikie, at a business-critical factory environment is an important step in taking the new technology to the production stage.
In Uusikaupunki, Unikie and Valmet Automotive have ran a test series for driving a vehicle from the plant to a logistics field for shipping aided by the infrastructure only. The system does not require vehicles to have any autonomous capabilities or sensors, but only the basic capabilities for steering, changing gears, accelerating, and braking as defined by the ISO23374 standard.
Unikie is a member of the German Automotive Association (VDA) and is presenting an interoperable automated valet parking solution in a joint project of 5 automotive OEMs (BMW, FORD, MERCEDES-BENZ, JAGUAR-LAND ROVER and CARIAD, a technology subsidiary of VW Group) and 4 technology providers (Unikie, BOSCH, Valeo and Continental/Kopernikus). The Automated Valet Parking Showcase, running at the IAA Mobility 2021 from 6th to 12th of September, is the world’s first live presentation on how the solutions of different technology providers and major automotive OEMs work cross-functionally.
“At the Uusikaupunki plant, we have been utilizing the same automated valet parking technology as in Munich but in an industrial environment indoors and outdoors, which presents new challenges for the system. During our testing, we have had various weather conditions and have proven that the system can operate with reliability even in pouring rain. By taking our solution into use our customers can achieve remarkable improvements in efficiency and significant cost savings”, says Vesa Kiviranta, Chief Business Officer for Automotive at Unikie.
“Valmet Automotive is interested in new technologies as a way to gain competitive advantage through improved efficiency and safety for our processes, and it has been interesting to see how the system can manage a production environment“, says Sami Kunvik, Manager of Manufacturing Engineering at Valmet Automotive.
Unikie is working currently with multiple OEMs to validate its technology and is expecting first production installations during 2022.
Unikie in brief
Unikie is a Finnish software technology company that develops technologies for protected real-time processes. Our services concentrate on the crossroads of three global macrotrends – IoE, 5G, and AI – where our technology solutions enable a constant awareness of the surroundings, as well as decision-making and control based on this awareness. Our clients include pioneers of real-time data utilization in the automotive industry as well as other industries and telecommunication companies worldwide.
Founded in 2015, Unikie is one of Finland’s fastest growing technology companies. Our turnover in 2020 was 33 million euros. Our goal for the near future is to keep up our rapid international growth pace, because the demand for our AI, deep technology and security solutions is increasing rapidly across the globe. At the end of 2020 we received growth capital from Capman Growth and Tesi. We employ over 400 software developers in Finland, Sweden, Germany, Poland and the United States. Our clients include Sandvik, Nokia, Valmet and Ponsse.
