VDA 5050

The interface was established in cooperation between the German Association of the Automotive Industry and Verband Deutscher Maschinen-und Anlagenbau e.V. (VDMA) with the support of the Institute for Material Handling and Logistics at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT IFL) as an all-purpose interface for communication between a master control system and automated guided vehicle systems.

You can download the current version here free of charge. Suggested changes can be posted to the GitHub repository http:/github.com/vda5050/vda5050. They will be reviewed by the VDA and VDMA and, if a positive decision is made, will be included in a new version. Older versions of VDA 5050 are no longer recommended or developed further. You can download them here.

For the third time, the AGV Mesh-Up took place on March 29th and 30th, 2023 as a live test of the VDA 5050 communication interface as part of the TEST CAMP INTRALOGISTICS in Dortmund. The VDA 5050 ensures the interoperability of automated guided vehicles and mobile robots. In this case, the vehicles can be operated together under one master control system via the interface, regardless of their design and manufacturer.

With this AGV mesh-up, companies were able to test the interface suitability of their vehicles and control systems in front of an audience. Two control systems provided by KINEXON and SIEMENS were used for the first time. The vehicles on site moved on both days of the event with one of the two control systems. A total of nine devices moved around on the area of the AGV Mesh-Up.