Fly Boat carrying a customized metal carrier near the customer's inspection area in Zhuhai.

 

 

The robot chassis is approximately 56 cm wide, but the goods move on a carrier close to 100 cm wide. Evaluating the route against the chassis alone would therefore miss the main restriction. The full robot-and-carrier footprint had to be considered at the elevator entrance, within the cabin and along the factory aisles.

The elevator interior is 1.15 m wide, 1.8 m deep and 2.1 m high. Comparing its internal width with the approximately 1 m carrier gives a nominal difference of 15 cm, or about 7.5 cm per side when perfectly centered. These figures describe the width difference only. The actual doorway opening, carrier shape, alignment and required safety margins determine the usable passage clearance.

 

 

Width comparison of the 56 cm robot, approximately 100 cm carrier and 115 cm elevator interior. Internal cabin width is distinct from usable doorway clearance.

REEMAN engineers repeatedly adjusted the approach path, positioning references, stopping location and entry and exit speeds. Reflector assistance supported alignment at critical positions. Driving in forward and backing out removed the turning maneuver that would otherwise demand more space from the loaded assembly. Reliable passage depended on the combined configuration and on-site commissioning.

 

 

The customer needed repeated transfers of production materials to an inspection station. A manual process would involve moving a loaded trolley through a workshop, operating a door, waiting for an elevator and completing the delivery on another floor. Automating those connected steps releases workers from repeated transport activity while allowing the existing factory layout to remain in use.

Pickup and passage through the automatic door

At the assigned pickup location, Fly Boat moves beneath the customized metal carrier and raises it using its integrated lifting mechanism. The project transports approximately 200 kg per trip. The product's published lifting height is 10 cm; carrier compatibility still depends on its structure, load distribution, stability and the clearances along the complete route.

The loaded robot next approaches the configured waiting position at an automatic door. The integrated controller requests opening, and the robot crosses after the required passage conditions have been met. Once it has cleared the doorway, the door controller follows its configured closing sequence. Repeated deliveries can therefore pass this boundary without a worker opening the door for every task.

Production aisle travel and the floor transfer

The production aisle is approximately 1.5 m wide and runs through a working factory with equipment, material racks and employee activity. Fly Boat follows the commissioned map and route. Speed settings and clearance checks account for the nearly 1 m-wide carrier rather than the narrower chassis.

At the elevator waiting point, the control integration coordinates the call, arrival and door conditions before forward entry. The robot stops at the configured cabin position and the system requests the destination floor. After arrival and confirmation of the required passage conditions, Fly Boat reverses out and continues toward the inspection station.

Carrier release and the unloaded charging journey

At the destination, Fly Boat aligns with the designated drop-off position, lowers the carrier to the floor and withdraws from underneath. Workers do not need to lift the entire carrier off the robot. This completes the approximately 600 m loaded journey from the original pickup point.

The robot then uses the elevator again and follows its unloaded route to the charging station, where it aligns and docks automatically. That leg is approximately 100 m. Adding the delivery and charging legs gives about 700 m for the complete task, whose starting point and finishing point are different.

 

 

Specification	Zhuhai installation
Robot	REEMAN Fly Boat Factory Delivery Robot
Robot Dimensions (L × W × H)	Approx. 0.81 × 0.56 × 1.82 m
Published Rated Payload	300 kg
Actual Payload per Trip	Approx. 200 kg
Published Product Lifting Height	10 cm
Customized Carrier Width	Approx. 1 m
Elevator Internal Dimensions (W × D × H)	1.15 × 1.8 × 2.1 m
Production Aisle Width	Approx. 1.5 m
Navigation and Positioning	Laser Navigation with Reflector Assistance
Project Positioning Accuracy Reference	Approx. ±3 cm
Site-Configured Speed Range	0.3–1 m/s
Maximum Travel Speed	1 m/s
Materials Transported	PCB materials and bottled water
Customer Industry	Electronics Manufacturing
Project Location	Zhuhai, Guangdong, China
Loaded Delivery Distance	Approx. 600 m
Unloaded Distance to Charging Station	Approx. 100 m
Complete Task Travel Distance	Approx. 700 m
Customer-Reported Daily Frequency	Approx. 70–90 trips
Automation Functions	Autonomous Lifting, Automatic Door Integration, Elevator Integration, Automatic Unloading and Charging
Robot + Elevator Control System Reference Price	Approx. USD 5,720

The 300 kg published rating describes the product's payload capacity; approximately 200 kg is the load carried in this installation. Similarly, the stated dimensions of about 0.81 × 0.56 × 1.82 m relate to the reported Zhuhai configuration and should not be applied to every possible Fly Boat setup.

 

 

Door and elevator control interfaces

The automatic door and robot must exchange the commands and status information needed for an orderly crossing. Depending on the equipment already installed, the connection may use compatible I/O signals, an integration module or a supported communication interface. The customer footage establishes that the door is coordinated with the transport task, but it does not identify the electrical interface or prove that a particular wireless protocol was used.

Elevator integration similarly requires a compatible and permitted control connection. Its implementation depends on the elevator manufacturer, the available interfaces and the project requirements. Navigation directs the robot's own movement; the elevator integration exchanges requests and status. Door protection and the elevator's other safety interlocks remain under the original elevator control system.

For an overview of the connected process, see REEMAN's guide to automatic elevator riding and multi-floor material delivery.

Reflector assistance and motion settings

Laser navigation provides the mapped route, while installed reflectors offer recognizable references for localization correction at selected positions. In Zhuhai, engineers used reflector-assisted positioning with an approximate reference accuracy of ±3 cm. Commissioning included reflector placement, parameter adjustment and calibration of the approach and exit paths.

Positioning configuration	Accuracy reference	Use in this project
Reflector-Assisted Positioning	±3 cm	Used
Laser Navigation	±5 cm	Navigation Capability
QR Code-Assisted Positioning	±2 cm	Not Used

These accuracy figures refer to different technical configurations. They are not three separately measured results from the Zhuhai project. The installation uses reflector assistance rather than QR code guidance. A positioning reference of ±3 cm also does not establish a 3 cm limit for the complete moving assembly: orientation, motion variation, carrier geometry and safety allowances affect actual passage.

The project does not rely on a continuous magnetic strip or a floor QR code route, although the reflectors themselves require suitable installation. Site-configured travel speeds range from 0.3 to 1 m/s, with 1 m/s as the stated maximum. Engineers can set different speeds for loaded movement, ordinary aisles, door approaches, narrow elevator entry, reverse exit and the unloaded return.

Laser and 3D vision-based sensing support obstacle detection. The robot can slow down or stop according to its configured logic when it detects relevant obstacles. Detection coverage, stopping behavior and clearance around the carrier require validation in the actual operating area, particularly near workers and building equipment.

 

 

The delivery and charging legs serve different purposes. Approximately 600 m covers loaded travel from pickup to the inspection station, including the floor transfer. The remaining approximately 100 m is unloaded travel from the delivery point to the charger. Describing the project as a 600 m same-route return journey would misstate the reported workflow.

Even with uninterrupted movement at the maximum 1 m/s, a 700 m task requires 700 seconds, or 11 minutes and 40 seconds, of travel. Door operation, elevator waiting, acceleration, slowing, obstacle responses and carrier handling all add time. The recorded task logs are the appropriate basis for a cycle-time assessment.

The customer reports approximately 70–90 transport trips per day. If each recorded trip represents the entire 700 m task, that would imply 49–63 km of daily movement and about 13.6–17.5 hours of travel at a constant 1 m/s before any process delays. The trip definition and operating schedule therefore need to be read together; the figure cannot be assumed to describe that many full cycles in an eight-hour shift.

 

 

The supplied reference amount for the Fly Boat robot together with the elevator control system is approximately USD 5,720. The final quotation must establish whether deployment, automatic door integration, shipping, taxes and any other implementation costs are included. A financial assessment should use the complete installed cost and the labor expenditure or productive capacity that the project actually releases.

Planning assumptions and calculated results

In this planning case, 80 trips on each of 26 operating days, with five worker minutes saved per trip, release approximately 173.33 labor hours per month. Valuing those hours at USD 4 gives gross monthly savings of approximately USD 693.33. Deducting the USD 60 operating and maintenance allowance leaves approximately USD 633.33 per month.

Planning variable	Assumed value
Daily Transport Trips	80
Worker Time Saved per Trip	5 minutes
Assumed Fully Loaded Labor Cost	USD 4/hour
Operating Days per Month	26
Assumed Monthly Operating and Maintenance Allowance	USD 60
Initial Investment	USD 5,720

Dividing the USD 5,720 investment by the monthly net savings gives an estimated payback of about 9.0 months. Twelve months of net operating savings total approximately USD 7,600. Subtracting the initial investment and dividing the remainder by that investment produces a first-year ROI of approximately 32.9%.

The calculation counts worker time released from the manual process. Robot travel time is not an interchangeable measure of labor savings. These are modeled results under stated assumptions, rather than audited financial outcomes or a customer-confirmed payback period.

How the assumptions change the return

Measure	Conservative	Planning case	Higher savings
Daily Trips	70	80	90
Labor Saved per Trip	3 min	5 min	6 min
Fully Loaded Labor Cost	USD 3/hour	USD 4/hour	USD 5/hour
Operating Days per Month	26	26	26
Monthly Operating and Maintenance Allowance	USD 60	USD 60	USD 60
Monthly Net Savings	USD 213	USD 633.33	USD 1,110
Estimated Payback	26.9 months	9.0 months	5.2 months
First-Year ROI	-55.3%	32.9%	132.9%

All scenarios use USD 5,720 as the initial investment. Their different outcomes come from the assumed transport frequency, worker time saved and hourly labor cost. They are sensitivity calculations, not three operating trials at the factory. Actual returns depend on completed tasks, utilization, charging arrangements, electricity, maintenance and replacement costs, and whether the time released becomes measurable savings or additional output.

 

 

The Zhuhai project shows how carrier handling, navigation and equipment control can be commissioned together within an existing manufacturing building. The installation uses the customer's aisles, automatic door and elevator. Reflector installation, mapping, route adjustment and control integration provide the required automation without creating a dedicated transport corridor.

Electronics and PCB manufacturers, component producers and industrial warehouses can use this example when assessing repetitive internal transfers. A comparable project still needs a review of the payload, carrier stability and dimensions, usable doorway and aisle clearances, turning requirements, control permissions and operating demand. The practical achievement here is a configured cross-floor route for a wide carrier, supported by automatic pickup, release and return charging.

Customer video and process chapters

Watch the Zhuhai customer case on YouTube

 

 

• 00:00 Carrier pickup and departure
• 00:12 PCB material transport through the automatic door
• 00:16 Travel along the narrow production aisle
• 00:40 Wide carrier alignment and elevator entry
• 00:47 Destination floor arrival and elevator exit
• 00:55 Delivery point arrival and carrier release
• 01:13 Elevator use on the unloaded return
• 01:21 Exit from the elevator for the return route
• 01:36 Return travel through the workshop aisle
• 01:53 Arrival at the automatic charging area

The edited footage presents lifting, door passage, aisle travel, elevator use, carrier release and the journey back to charging. Its playback length does not show the actual duration of the full approximately 700 m task.