Automating Forklift Movement in Real-World Warehouses


Date:  Tuesday, May 12

Start Time: 12:00 pm

End Time: 12:30 pm

Warehouses remain difficult to automate due to high operational variability, dynamic layouts and constantly changing workflows. While autonomous systems have been widely adopted in manufacturing, these same approaches often struggle in real-world warehouse environments. ArcBest | Vaux has developed an autonomous forklift platform designed to operate reliably in these conditions by combining computer vision, LiDAR sensing, warehouse mapping and human-in-the-loop teleoperation. This hybrid approach allows the system to manage edge cases and operational variability without requiring costly infrastructure changes. In this session, we will discuss the journey behind building and deploying autonomous forklifts in real warehouses.

Track

Session Speakers

  • Brian Nachtigall leads the Vaux team at ArcBest, delivering end‑to‑end autonomous material handling solutions that modernize and streamline warehouse operations. Vaux combines award‑winning hardware and software—including the Vaux Freight Movement System, Vaux Smart Autonomy and Vaux Vision—to drive significant efficiency gains across warehouses, distribution centers and other industrial environments. Before joining ArcBest, Brian spent the previous 15 years leading industrial automation businesses through periods of growth and change. His experience includes warehouse automation (the Stretch robot at Boston Dynamics), industrial machine vision (3D vision products at Cognex) and semiconductor capital equipment (the Vacuum Systems business unit at Brooks Automation). Brian’s early career includes 5 years as a strategy consultant with Bain & Company. He holds an MBA from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business and a degree in Engineering from Princeton University.


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Automating Forklift Movement in Real-World Warehouses