The concept is an electric single-person mode of transportation that's meant for covering short distances within an operating site.
But, for the employees who are sometimes required to cover up to 12km per day on foot while carrying small parts and work materials at the company's plants and logistics centres, it's better known as the BMW Plant Commuter.
Experts from the BMW Group Research and Technology House in Garching took up this challenge, together with the staff who run the BMW Group’s central aftersales logistics network at the Dingolfing location.
Employees at various sites were surveyed on a random basis and their needs recorded, while environment analyses were conducted in parallel and the legal framework, such as site safety guidelines, were taken into account.
“It had to be flexible, easy to manoeuvre, zippy, electric, extremely agile and tilt-proof – and, at the same time, suitable for carrying objects. The Personal Mover Concept can do all of this – and is also fun to drive. We hope to start using it as soon as possible," said central aftersales logistics network department head of operations Richard Kamissek.
Research into existing options failed to come up with satisfactory solutions, but experts from the "Research, New Technologies, Innovations" department concluded that only customised in-house development could provide an adequate solution.
To generate creative and unconventional concept ideas quickly, the in-house design thinking format "think.make.start", whereby interdisciplinary teams use agile methods to develop and evaluate ideas and prototypes were used and thus the Personal Mover Concept was born.
Although the initial ideas met all the requirements, they entailed too much technical and financial effort for simple and straightforward implementation.
The body platform of the concept is 600mm-wide and 800mm-long and 1,100mm-tall so that a person can stand comfortably on it and still have room for larger, heavy objects.
The 20kg concept has two wheels at the rear corners of the platform and two support wheels at the front ensure that it does not tip over, even in tight bends. The two front wheels can rotate 360 degrees.
The handlebar and drive wheel are sunk into the middle of the body platform at the front.
The handlebar contains the entire electrical system including the battery and drive wheel, which can be rotated 90 degrees to the left and right, allowing the concept to turn on the spot.
A thumb-throttle is integrated into the right grip, which is used to start the concept, operate the light, select drive mode or check the battery status.
For safety, there is also a bell for warning other employees.
The left grip operates the brake and also acts as a dead-man’s control.
If not accelerating, the concept recuperates in a similar manner to the BMW i3, by feeding released braking energy back into the battery.
The electric drive accelerates up to a maximum of 25kph, has a range of about 20-30km and can be charged from a regular household socket via a power adapter.
Occupational safety guidelines require a permanent daytime running light, so an LED front light is mounted on the handlebar, with two red LED lights integrated into the bumpers at the rear of the platform for this purpose.
The bumpers, basket mount and handlebar mount covering were all fabricated using two different additive manufacturing 3D-printing techniques – the familiar FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling) and a state-of-the-art two-component Polyjet process.
Five prototypes of the concept were presented at an internal international BMW Group aftersales logistics conference and were very well received.
The maximum speed is limited to the 12kph permitted on plant grounds.
The range available in normal operation allows it to be used for a full shift without recharging.
The concept was designed with deployment at FIZ Future in mind. Once completed, the campus will extend for about 1km from north to south.
It is also conceivable for the concept to be used outside of the company's locations.
Initial discussions with operators at airports, exhibition centres and major shopping centres have shown that it could also be an attractive solution for applications of that kind.
