The Robot Report

  • Home
  • News
  • Technologies
    • Batteries / Power Supplies
    • Cameras / Imaging / Vision
    • Controllers
    • End Effectors
    • Microprocessors / SoCs
    • Motion Control
    • Sensors
    • Soft Robotics
    • Software / Simulation
  • Development
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Human Robot Interaction / Haptics
    • Mobility / Navigation
    • Research
  • Robots
    • AGVs
    • AMRs
    • Consumer
    • Collaborative Robots
    • Drones
    • Humanoids
    • Industrial
    • Self-Driving Vehicles
    • Unmanned Maritime Systems
  • Business
    • Financial
      • Investments
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Earnings
    • Markets
      • Agriculture
      • Healthcare
      • Logistics
      • Manufacturing
      • Mining
      • Security
    • RBR50
      • RBR50 Winners 2025
      • RBR50 Winners 2024
      • RBR50 Winners 2023
      • RBR50 Winners 2022
      • RBR50 Winners 2021
  • Resources
    • Automated Warehouse Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • eBooks
    • Publications
      • Automated Warehouse
      • Collaborative Robotics Trends
    • Search Robotics Database
    • Videos
    • Webinars / Digital Events
  • Events
    • RoboBusiness
    • Robotics Summit & Expo
    • DeviceTalks
    • R&D 100
    • Robotics Weeks
  • Podcast
    • Episodes
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

Ford Spain optimizes internal logistics with MiR collaborative mobile robots

By The Robot Report Staff | October 7, 2019

Ford Motor Co. is no stranger to robots, but its manufacturing plant in Almussafes-Valencia, Spain, needed to automate a manual and time-consuming process. To do so, Ford Spain has deployed collaborative mobile robots from Mobile Industrial Robots ApS.

Ford Spain makes 2,000 vehicles per day in its Valencia plant, including models popular in Europe such as the Kuga, Mondeo, and S-Max. Optimizing its internal logistics would affect both workers and overall productivity.

Ford Spain MiR case study breakdown

Challenge

Industrial automation is already used to assemble automobiles at Ford Spain, but the delivery of industrial and welding materials to different robotic stations of the body and stamping plant was repetitive and time-consuming. Retrieving spare parts to feed robots was not a value-added task for employees, according to Ford Spain.

Ford Spain decided to be the first Ford plant in Europe to try collaborative mobile robots, turning to Odense, Denmark-based Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR), which is owned by U.S.-based Teradyne Inc.

Solution

Ford Spain bought its first MiR100 robot a year and a half ago. The autonomous mobile robot (AMR) is named for its payload capacity of 100kg (220.4 lb.) and delivers spare parts in the plant. It is able to avoid unforeseen obstacles, modify its route as necessary, and work alongside humans and other vehicles.

The autonomous navigation system of the MiR robots provided the flexibility that Ford Spain sought. The company eventually acquired two more AMRs.

Ford Spain AMR requirements

Ford Spain needed AMRs that required minimal infrastructure and could operate around other vehicles and people. Source: MiR

“For us, it was important that the three MiR robots had one key feature — that for the navigation of the robot, no external elements were needed, such as external beacons, magnets, or tapes on the ground,” said Miguel Montaña, a maintenance control analyst at Ford Spain. “So, we simply mapped the test area, and the robot began to work, just like that. In an environment as complex as ours, that is very important.”

“Of the three MiR100 robots we currently use, the first one that arrived at our factory was baptized with the name ‘Survival,’ because it has survived in a very hostile environment,” said Eduardo Garcia Magraner, engineering manager of the body and stamping area at Ford Spain. “We programmed it to learn the entire plant map, and this, together with the sensors with which it is equipped, means that it does not need any external help to circulate safely.”

“One of the first applications that we developed in [the] Ford Spain body and stamping plant with the MiR autonomous collaborative robot was to transport spare parts for production equipment from the warehouse to the production lines,” he recalled. “And now, we can say that Survival has survived to this hostile environment, and today continues to distribute these items from the warehouse to the production lines.”

Ease of use was another important factor for adoption, said Garcia Magraner.

“The robot is well configured so that it can be used by anyone, even if they are not familiar with the world of collaborative mobile robots,” he said. “The system is very user-friendly, as the three MiR robots have their own routes throughout the extensive factory area.”


The Robot Report is launching the Healthcare Robotics Engineering Forum, which will be on Dec. 9-10 in Santa Clara, Calif. The conference and expo will focus on improving the design, development, and manufacture of next-generation healthcare robots. Learn more about the Healthcare Robotics Engineering Forum, and registration is now open.


Results at Ford Spain

“We are proud to have one of the most innovative factories in Europe and [to be] pioneers in the use of collaborative mobile robots for the distribution of industrial materials that allow us to be more efficient with our intra-logistics,” said Pepe Pérez, corporate communications manager at Ford Spain.

“When the tests started, the operators were staring at the robot as it passed by, as if in a science fiction movie,” said Garcia Magraner. “Now, they go on with their work knowing that the robot is smart enough to work around them.”

After testing the MiR100, Ford Spain concluded that “it worked flawlessly and has become a very valuable member of the team,” he added. “Hopefully, we can take it to other Ford facilities.”

Ford Spain found that one MiR AMR freed up to 40 staff hours per day, enabling employees to take on more complex and engaging tasks.

To further suit its needs, Ford Spain added an automated shelving system with 17 slots for materials of different sizes and weights. Operators in each area of the plant have access to only the shelves with the materials they need.

Ford Spain MiR compartments

The MiR100 robots at Ford Spain have compartments providing workers access only to the materials they need. Source: MiR

“The incorporation of the three MiR robots has allowed us to turn a routine distribution of spare items into a highly qualified job,” said Helios Alvarez, manager of the body and stamping plant. He said he expects Ford Spain to find more uses for the robots.

“The satisfaction we have achieved with the implementation of these the MiR robots in the distribution of industrial materials is allowing us to open new fields of expansion to incorporate new MiR robots within the scope of the body and stamping plant and even going beyond, to other areas within the factory,” said Alvarez. “We have been able to demonstrate that these robots are capable of learning their way by themselves and also interact perfectly well with our employees and forklift trucks or any other moving element with total safety.”

Tell Us What You Think! Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Articles Read More >

A Moxi robot standing at a pharmacy window.
Diligent Robotics completes 300,000 pharmacy deliveries with Moxi
headshot of John santagate and the podcast logo.
Trends in supply chain robotics with John Santagate of infios
Mobile robots lifting racks in a warehouse.
Interact Analysis slashes its mobile robot outlook amid tariff uncertainty
Outrider has designed safety systems for autonomous yard trucks, with mockup shown here.
Outrider designs safety system for autonomous yard trucks

RBR50 Innovation Awards

“rr
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, tools and strategies for Robotics Professionals.
The Robot Report Listing Database

Latest Episode of The Robot Report Podcast

Automated Warehouse Research Reports

Sponsored Content

  • How to Set Up a Planetary Gear Motion with SOLIDWORKS
  • Sager Electronics and its partners, logos shown here, will exhibit at the 2025 Robotics Summit & Expo. Sager Electronics to exhibit at the Robotics Summit & Expo
  • The Shift in Robotics: How Visual Perception is Separating Winners from the Pack
  • An AutoStore automated storage and retrieval grid. Webinar to provide automated storage and retrieval adoption advice
  • Smaller, tougher devices for evolving demands
The Robot Report
  • Automated Warehouse
  • RoboBusiness Event
  • Robotics Summit & Expo
  • About The Robot Report
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search The Robot Report

  • Home
  • News
  • Technologies
    • Batteries / Power Supplies
    • Cameras / Imaging / Vision
    • Controllers
    • End Effectors
    • Microprocessors / SoCs
    • Motion Control
    • Sensors
    • Soft Robotics
    • Software / Simulation
  • Development
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Human Robot Interaction / Haptics
    • Mobility / Navigation
    • Research
  • Robots
    • AGVs
    • AMRs
    • Consumer
    • Collaborative Robots
    • Drones
    • Humanoids
    • Industrial
    • Self-Driving Vehicles
    • Unmanned Maritime Systems
  • Business
    • Financial
      • Investments
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Earnings
    • Markets
      • Agriculture
      • Healthcare
      • Logistics
      • Manufacturing
      • Mining
      • Security
    • RBR50
      • RBR50 Winners 2025
      • RBR50 Winners 2024
      • RBR50 Winners 2023
      • RBR50 Winners 2022
      • RBR50 Winners 2021
  • Resources
    • Automated Warehouse Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • eBooks
    • Publications
      • Automated Warehouse
      • Collaborative Robotics Trends
    • Search Robotics Database
    • Videos
    • Webinars / Digital Events
  • Events
    • RoboBusiness
    • Robotics Summit & Expo
    • DeviceTalks
    • R&D 100
    • Robotics Weeks
  • Podcast
    • Episodes
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe