Microbird's Ecotuned division converts conventional combustion-engine buses into fully electric vehicles. The transformation process runs across multiple parallel assembly stations — and at several critical stages, the buses are completely unpowered: the engine has been removed, propulsion systems are offline, and the vehicle cannot move on its own.
Moving a full-size bus between stations under those conditions is no small task. Traditional towing and manual handling methods created real problems on the floor — complex maneuvers in tight spaces, elevated safety risks for operators, slow cycle times, and wasted floor space between bays. Microbird needed a solution that could handle heavy, unpowered vehicles safely, efficiently, and without demanding large circulation aisles.
Inogec designed a custom ultra-low-profile AGV built specifically around this application.
Precision Under-Vehicle Access The platform is slim enough to slide directly beneath the bus chassis. Once in position, it automatically centers itself under the frame, engages custom lifting tooling at the vehicle's designated lift points, and raises the bus safely — with no risk of chassis damage.
360° LiDAR Safety Coverage Once the bus is lifted, LiDAR sensors generate a full dynamic protection zone around the vehicle. Obstacles are detected in real time, and all movements are performed under operator supervision with the system continuously managing environmental safety.
Omnidirectional Lateral Movement Because the assembly bays run in parallel, the primary movement needed was lateral — not forward or backward. The Inogec AGV was built to perform a controlled crab-movement, shifting the bus sideways directly from one station to the next, with no rotation maneuver and no wide turning radius required.
The AGV didn't just solve a handling problem — it changed how Microbird thinks about their production floor layout.
By eliminating the need for large circulation aisles between bays, the team was able to tighten inter-station spacing, fit more bays into the same footprint, and improve the overall linearity of the assembly flow. Every square foot started working harder.
On the operational side, the results were equally clear: indexing sequences became faster and more consistent, manual handling risks were eliminated, and the entire bus-movement process became standardized and repeatable — shift after shift, operator after operator.
In their Words
What This Project Proves
When a product is heavy, unpowered, and surrounded by workers in a constrained space, the margin for error is zero. The Microbird project demonstrates that a purpose-built AGV solution can simultaneously solve a mechanical challenge, raise the safety bar, accelerate production flow, and unlock floor space — all at once.
