Live Video Broadcasting Ensures Secure Operation of Forklift Trucks

Forklift trucks are essential machinery in today’s industrial settings and storage facilities. Within a warehouse, for instance, forklifts are utilized to stock and retrieve items such as edibles, beverages, documents, and medicines. These forklift trucks are categorized based on their power source and lifting capacity, which may vary from a few boxes to numerous goods containers. Now, envision a scenario where a large industrial warehouse complex is equipped with two hundred forklift trucks that run non-stop to meet the demand for goods. In the absence of a monitoring system for these forklift trucks, the warehouse would swiftly plunge into disarray, posing a safety risk for both individuals and machinery. In this piece, we present the triumphant tale of an Italian forklift manufacturer that recently enhanced the surveillance setups on its forklift trucks to offer real-time on-site monitoring capabilities to customers, thereby ensuring smooth and effective operation of the forklift trucks to amplify productivity in warehouse activities.

Continuous Monitoring of Operations

A supervisor stationed in the warehouse’s control room must maintain constant vigilance over the movement and functioning of the forklift trucks operating throughout the premises to guarantee the efficient storage and punctual transportation of items to their destinations, all while adhering to the strictest safety protocols to prevent accidents. The optimal approach to accomplish this is by installing surveillance cameras on the forklift trucks to broadcast live videos of the operations to the control hub. This way, operators in the warehouse control center can obtain a comprehensive understanding of the on-site operations of the forklift trucks and can respond promptly to synchronize activities, enhance safety, and boost the efficiency of the forklift systems.

The Wireless Edge

The forklift manufacturer sought a Wi-Fi solution that could provide user-friendly devices for mounting on forklift trucks. The devices needed to seamlessly integrate with existing third-party Access Points (APs) in the network. The network was required to deliver adequate Wi-Fi bandwidth to support live streaming of video data from IP cameras mounted on the forklift trucks.

Uniting for Success—The Achievements

With over 200 forklift trucks equipped with surveillance cameras, a dependable wireless network was necessary to facilitate live video broadcasting to the control center. To achieve this, each IP camera on board the forklift trucks was linked to an AWK-3131A wireless client, enabling the real-time transmission of video data to the control hub.

Moxa’s AWK-3131A supports the client-router mode, obviating the need for an additional switch and thus simplifying device installation. These devices can function with third-party APs, making their deployment in existing wireless networks easy, and connecting them to the SCADA system in the control center seamless.

The AWK-3131A adheres to the 802.11n standard to offer data rates of up to 300 Mbps, which is perfect for live video broadcasting over a wireless network. Turbo Roaming technology in the devices ensures millisecond-level handoff time for AWK-3131A wireless clients, guaranteeing uninterrupted wireless connections to enhance the efficiency of the forklift trucks in carrying out their tasks.

Moxa’s AWK-3131A industrial IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n wireless AP/client delivers the following advantages to ensure a dependable wireless network for effective forklift truck operations in warehouses:

• Client-router mode in devices for simplified network deployment
• Compatibility with existing third-party APs
• Data rates up to 300 Mbps suitable for video streaming applications
• 150 ms client-side handoff with Turbo Roaming technology

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