Connecting layer
Middleware
A connecting layer between production equipment, transport units, stations, storage, and ERP or production systems.
Connecting equipment and systems
Connecting equipment, stations, and data.
Middleware connects automation equipment, mobile transport, storage, buffer stations, and higher-level production or ERP systems into one structured communication layer.
The layer does not replace individual devices — it defines how stations, transport units, and higher-level systems exchange transport orders, station state, and material context.
Connecting layer
Middleware
Middleware integrates hardware stations, transport platforms, storage, and mechanical buffer units with a transport-order API and connection to higher-level production systems.
Integration layer
How Middleware connects machines, transport, and ERP.
- Hardware Station Service
- standard hardware interface for stations and transport units
- Transport order service API
- JSON structure or file-based exchange (e.g. FTP)
- Backend service
- dynamic routing of orders by transport type and cargo type
- MWContext Broker
- contextual link between production equipment and higher-level systems
- ERP / production-system connection
- configurable data exchange, not universal ERP support
Connected equipment
Machines, stations, and transport units.
Transport platforms
Documented classes of mobile transport units.
- OTTO 100 — documented lower-payload platform in the e-catalog (~150 kg)
- OTTO 750 / 1500 — documented higher-payload platform (~2000 kg)
- OTTO Lifter — documented lifting unit for pallets and vertical handoffs
- Fast Charger — documented fast-charging station for AMR/SDV fleets
Storage and robot transfer
Automated storage and transfer in the flow.
- WELAND automated storage — automated storage in the documented system
- Vertical storage LIFT — height 5–16 m, trays with fixation for transport units
- ABB IRB 6700 — documented industrial robot platform for transfer between lift, linear buffer, and palletizing
Buffer and drop-off
Mechanical units for intermediate storage and handoff.
Linear Buffer (entry/exit) — servo-driven platform, Siemens PLC, end-position sensing
Mechanical Buffer Chute — LR (count-based) / W (weight-based), two integrated chambers
Mechanical Drop-off — vertical axis and rotation, Siemens PLC, automatic line feeding
Related solution
Where Middleware enters the material flow.
The practical integration question is: how does a station know when a mobile unit should arrive, what it should pick up, and how that is reported to a higher-level system? Middleware combines the hardware station interface, transport order service, and backend logic that routes calls by transport and cargo type.
An ERP or production system is not connected through one fixed module — an intermediate layer handles transport-order exchange and context (MWContext Broker), adaptable to existing and new equipment in the same plant.
Contact
Need to connect equipment and systems?
Together we look at your existing and new equipment, transport units, and ERP or production system — then assess how the connection should be designed.