Airport Self-Service Bag Drop and Baggage Handling Solutions

EasyJet has opted for Unipack: at the Berlin-Schönefeld airport the airline is using the Unipack system developed by Unitechnik Automatisierungs GmbH for automatic baggage handling.

The pilot installation is meanwhile being used for 100% of the check-in baggage, regardless of weight, shape or size. EasyJet profits from a fast and accurate loading process and is simultaneously minimizing the physical demands placed on their ground staff.

Visitors to the inter airport Europe trade show in Munich can see the practicality of the solution for themselves: Unipack is on exhibit at the Unitechnik stand 1057 in hall B5.

Following a short test phase, the pilot installation is now up and running successfully at EasyJet. With a capacity of 180 to 240 pieces of luggage per hour, Unipack has already safely and accurately loaded and unloaded several thousand suitcases, bags, and backpacks since its commissioning. Part of the solution is a robot with a patented gripper that automatically picks up luggage from a conveyor belt and places it onto waiting rampcart or unit load device (ULD). Its functionality is based on the smooth interaction of the system’s hardware components with a sophisticated software.

A scanner and an image processing system tell the robot the precise shape of the piece of luggage. The optimum position inside the rampcart or unit load device (ULD) is determined with the help of a three-dimensional measuring system. The robot not only adapts its telescope gripper precisely to the dimensions of the piece of luggage, it also grips it securely and places it precisely into the calculated position on the loading unit. Using this technology, Unitechnik achieves a fill rate of 100% for rampcarts and up to 85 percent for unit load devices (ULD).

In the process, the gripper robots need no more than 10 to 15 seconds per piece of luggage. The automated solution dramatically reduces the physical strain on staff. Because of its easy handling, new ground staff are also rapidly trained.

Photo: The luggage loading robot at work at EasyJet: Up to 240 pieces of luggage per hour are loaded automatically.