LogiMat 2026 opens and Best Product awards presented  

LogiMat opened its doors today (24 March) onto glorious sunshine in Stuttgart, Germany and soon the day aisles were filled with visitors enjoying the buzz we have come to associate with this show.

The opening day also sees the presentation of the LogiMat Best Product awards to three innovative, future-oriented new products that promise greater efficiency, automation, and optimization in intralogistical processes. The winners of this year’s awards offer solutions that deliver efficiency and visibility.

In the category of Order Picking, Conveying, Lifting, and Storing Technology, the jury honoured SkyBot, the world’s first mobile, omnidirectional ceiling-mounted cobot, developed by CeiliX Technology.

With SkyBot, the jury recognized the world’s first mobile, omnidirectional ceiling-mounted cobot. The patented technology enables the collision-free movement of robots, cobots, and cranes along ceilings – independently of room geometry, floor layout, or columns. SkyBot is the first solution to utilize the warehouse ceiling as a productive work area. It enables automation in confined spaces, keeps the floor clear, and offers flexibility for modern production and logistics processes.

The cobot moves along the ceiling, easily managing assembly, handling, and transport tasks. The system is based on the CeiliXElements modular ceiling rail network, which is mounted to the warehouse ceiling and allows the robot to move freely in multiple dimensions. This means that the SkyBot operates completely independently of traffic routes, floor-mounted equipment, and space constraints without the need for costly reconfigurations. The innovation can even integrate multi-story structures or multiple halls into a single continuous ceiling layout, enabling automation in areas where physical or economic constraints had previously made it impossible. The system is also scalable. Multiple SkyBots can be deployed simultaneously, passing each other and performing different tasks at the same time. This allows the system to adapt to varying workloads, accommodate fluctuations, and support incremental automation.

In the category of “Identification, Cargo Securement, and Packaging and Loading Technology,” the award went to the innovative ADAR sensor (Acoustic Detection and Ranging) developed by Norwegian Sensor Technology Company.

The patented Acoustic Detection and Ranging (ADAR) technology boosts the sensor capacities of autonomous machinery. ADAR technology uses ultra-compact 3D ultrasonic sensors to give autonomous robots full omnidirectional depth perception, enabling safe human-robot collaboration in the workplace. The innovation lies in the combination of wavelength-matched ultrasonic transducers, software-based beamforming technology, and object recognition algorithms that emit and detect sound waves to easily capture 3D spatial information. ADAR uses sound waves in the air to detect people and objects in three dimensions. The energy consumption and processing power required are minimal, making ADAR a more cost-effective alternative to widely used LiDAR technology. With a full 180° × 180° 3D field of view, ADAR helps mobile robots detect obstacles and people at all heights. ADAR offers a compact single-sensor solution that enables savings of up to 50% on sensor and safety costs compared to complex sensor stacks such as LiDAR and cameras. Extremely low power consumption and a solid-state design extend battery life. The ADAR sensor from Sonair enables a smarter, safer, more cost-effective deployment of robots in human environments, both at the machine and system levels. As a result, ADAR technology boosts robot productivity and reduces the costs, complexity, and maintenance requirements of mobile platforms.

In the category of Software, Communications, IT, the prize went to the EPG Aura Observer for AI-driven real-time analysis of video feeds, developed by the Ehrhardt Partner Group.

With the EPG Aura Observer, the Ehrhardt Partner Group (EPG) has created an AI-based environment for the cross-system analysis and optimization of logistics operations. The EPG Aura Observer is a specialized product within this environment pioneering AI-powered, real-time intelligent video analytics (IVA) to deliver better safety, visibility, and decentralized warehouse management.