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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Built Environ.
Sec. Transportation and Transit Systems
Volume 10 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fbuil.2024.1506495
This article is part of the Research Topic Technologies for Cleaner and Resilient Transportation and Transit Systems View all 4 articles

Design and development of a low-cost, Eco-friendly forklift for sustainable logistics management

Provisionally accepted
Asif Jalal Asif Jalal 1Izza Anwer Izza Anwer 1Nasir Hayat Nasir Hayat 1Dr. Muhammad Adeel Munir Dr. Muhammad Adeel Munir 1Imran Zahid Imran Zahid 2M Hamza M Hamza 1M Nouman M Nouman 1Noreen S Akber Noreen S Akber 3Fahid Riaz Fahid Riaz 4Dr. Muhammad Farooq Dr. Muhammad Farooq 3*
  • 1 University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
  • 2 Government College University, Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan
  • 3 Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University, Khobar, Saudi Arabia
  • 4 Abu Dhabi University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) most recent estimates show that between 35,000 and 62,000 injuries occur every year due to forklift-related accidents. According to the National Safety Council (NSC) data, approximately 78 fatalities are reported every year. Moreover, manual loading and unloading of heavy items is time-consuming and poses significant risks to workers in small and crowded warehouses. To address these safety and efficiency concerns in a cost-effective manner cost-effectively, an automated robotic forklift prototype was developed. The key features of this industrial robot include full rotational mobility with a zero-degree turning radius, which reduces the time and space required to turn around corners. It can be operated remotely via a mobile phone using Bluetooth or wi-fi. The motion control system, based on the ESP-32 microcontroller, significantly enhances its operational efficiency compared to manual operation. This study evaluates the performance of the robotic forklift prototype, cost-effectiveness, with loading and unloading capabilities as effective solutions to the challenges faced by workers. Additionally, structural analysis using Ansys confirmed that the design can safely withstand forces 60% greater than the intended design load of 50 N. Furthermore, the maximum stress experienced by the fork is 67% below the material yield strength, further demonstrating the robustness robustness and reliability. The integration of advanced technology and Eco-friendly design positions this forklift as a viable and sustainable option for improving material handling in various industrial sectors.

    Keywords: Battery-operated forklift1, autonomous forklift2, 360-degree rotating vehicle3, zerodegree turning radius4, DC gear motor5, ESP-32 Motion Control System6

    Received: 05 Oct 2024; Accepted: 10 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Jalal, Anwer, Hayat, Munir, Zahid, Hamza, Nouman, Akber, Riaz and Farooq. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Dr. Muhammad Farooq, Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University, Khobar, Saudi Arabia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.