Mobile robotics development takes centre stage at the joint BEUMERâFraunhofer lab
EUMER Group has joined forces with the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML) to fast-track the future of mobile robotics, launching a dedicated three-year innovation hub aimed at reshaping automated logistics.
The strategic partnership, agreed at the end of 2025, centres on a joint âEnterprise Labâ in Dortmund, where researchers and industry engineers are working side by side to develop next-generation mobile robotic systems.
The lab brings together Fraunhofer scientists and BEUMER specialists in a shared environment, giving the company direct access to advanced research capabilities, testing facilities and emerging technologies. In turn, Fraunhofer gains a direct route to bring innovations closer to real-world industrial application.
Five full-time Fraunhofer researchers will collaborate with BEUMER developers over the three-year period, forming what both organisations describe as a âpowerful teamâ focused on building a scalable and robust mobile robotics platform.
Volker Jungbluth, Chief Technology Officer at BEUMER Group, said the initiative is designed to embed research directly into product development rather than keeping it separate. âInstead of setting up an isolated island laboratory, we are using the Fraunhofer âEnterprise Labâ as a tried and tested format for incorporating external cutting-edge research directly into our product development,â he explained.
He added that the approach would âsignificantly accelerate our mobile robotics projects and offer our customers innovative solutions even fasterâ.
Mobile robotics is seen as a key growth area for BEUMER, complementing its existing conveying and sorting systems. Jungbluth described the technology as âa real lever for transformation in the sortation and logistics environmentâ, highlighting its flexibility, efficiency and reliability.
Professor Alice Kirchheim, Institute Director at Fraunhofer IML, said the collaboration builds on an established relationship between the two organisations. âWe are delighted to be working with our long-standing partner to take our joint cutting-edge research with the âEnterprise Labâ to a new level,â she said.
She added that both sides aim to âprovide the basis for leap innovations in mobile roboticsâ through a combination of practical experience and application-focused research.
At the heart of the project is the development of a standardised robotics platform, incorporating onboard control systems, sensor technology, localisation and fleet management. This shared foundation is expected to reduce development costs and speed up deployment across multiple use cases.
The partners have also set out a clear roadmap to ensure technologies developed in the lab can be rapidly transferred into real-world applications. These could range from sortation robots in parcel hubs to intelligent baggage handling systems in airports.
The Enterprise Lab model itself is not new. Fraunhofer IML has already rolled out similar collaborations with eleven other companies, with the format widely regarded as a catalyst for bridging the gap between academic research and industrial innovation.
For BEUMER, the partnership reflects a broader commitment to long-term, collaborative innovation. The family-owned company, which has a 90-year history, has increasingly focused on combining internal development with external expertise.
Recent initiatives include its Beam start-up incubator and the acquisition of digital firms such as Codept and Elara in 2025, signalling a wider push to expand its technological capabilities.
The new collaboration with Fraunhofer adds another dimension to that strategy, bringing research closer to product development in a bid to strengthen competitiveness and accelerate innovation.
Both organisations say they expect the partnership to set new benchmarks in intralogistics, with mobile robotics playing a central role in the next wave of automation.