Advanced Microwave Engineering (AME)

1. Can you please provide a brief introduction of yourself and your role as President and CEO of Advanced Microwave Engineering (AME)?

AME is a company that produces systems and technologies to ensure workplace safety. It was founded by me and my partner Filippo Bonifacio, now 25 years ago in Florence, when the concept of using technology to enhance safety was still far-fetched. We were therefore ahead of our time, you could say, and we helped create this market to some extent.

2. Can you provide a concise overview of Advanced Microwave Engineering (AME) and its core focus within the intralogistics industry?

AME offers innovative Active Prevention solutions, developed internally by our R&D team, to technologically, efficiently, and safely manage industrial and logistic plants, as well as the entire construction and tunneling sectors. Therefore, our solutions are effectively suited to preventing workplace incidents in various sectors, including paper, food & beverage, automotive, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, fashion, and more.

3. How does AME's Advanced Microwave Engineering align with LogiMAT's emphasis on intralogistics solutions and process management?

We don't directly deal with logistics, but with producing aids and technology for workplace safety. Therefore, we intersect with the world of logistics, as its part of the production processes and subsequent storage. This entails logistical processes within every production plant. By integrating our systems onto forklifts and transport vehicles within these areas to prevent potential collisions with pedestrians, we are indirectly intervening in internal logistics.

4. How do AME's EGOpro Active Safety solutions, utilizing proprietary technology, contribute to ensuring high levels of safety for workers while maintaining or increasing operational efficiency in intralogistics processes?

In the past two years, you may have heard about Amesphere, the natural evolution of the technology applied in EGOpro. When discussing Amesphere, we're referring to LPS (Local Positioning System) technology for risk detection. Essentially, we've enhanced the performance of incident risk detection, but with a crucial addition: the detection and subsequent analysis of data. With Amesphere, we're focusing more on prevention rather than protection.

5. Considering LogiMAT's focus on data management, how does AME address the efficient and secure handling of data within its Advanced Microwave Engineering solutions for intralogistics?

AME is placing great importance on data collection, analysis, and providing valuable insights to our clients. Consequently, we must be fully compliant with all GDPR to ensure cybersecurity standards are met. Transparent communication of this information to our clients is a priority for AME, enabling us to work in partnership to enhance plant performance.

6. In the context of Industry 4.0, how does AME's technology integrate with smart, autonomous systems along the entire supply chain, and what benefits does it bring to intralogistics processes?

Amesphere is fully compliant with Industry 4.0 regulations. The system collects, processes, and returns data to plant managers from both safety and logistical or production perspectives. We have developed an Efficiency Safety Indicator (ESI) coefficient, which synthesizes the "health" of the plant into a Key Performance Indicator (KPI). Essentially, we measure both the level of production efficiency and safety, with the coefficient ideally trending towards 0. This allows the manager to understand whether the performance is satisfactory or if certain processes need improvement with just one value. This analysis can be conducted within a single plant or by comparing multiple facilities within a global company.

7. Can you elaborate on how AME's Advanced Microwave Engineering facilitates seamless collaboration between human workers and intelligent robotic assistants in intralogistics operations?

For the past couple of years, AME has been collaborating with companies utilizing LGV and AGV technologies. With our Amesphere system, we can directly interface with robots, immediately detecting if an operator equipped with a TAG is nearby. In such cases, the robot stops, allowing, for example, maintenance processes to proceed without halting the entire plant. Consider how much this enhances the efficiency of such a facility. We understand well that halting operations altogether would entail hours of waiting and significant losses for the company.

8. As LogiMAT focuses on showcasing innovative technologies, how does AME stay ahead of industry trends in Advanced Microwave Engineering, and what future innovations does the company envision?

Honestly, we believe that the technologies we propose in the field of anti-collision and accident prevention in the workplace are among the most cutting-edge.. Jokingly, we like to say that "we're living on the waves." Therefore, rather than focusing solely on developing new technologies in the future, we envision more integration of technologies that can provide increasingly precise and extensive data in the field. This year, for example, we're introducing AI technology applied to LPS with our AMESPHERE VISTA

9. AME is recognized for its customer-centric approach. How does the company actively engage with customers to ensure that Advanced Microwave Engineering solutions meet their specific intralogistics needs?

For AME, creating partnerships with our clients is a mantra of ours. To refine our systems, we frequently gather feedback from our clients to improve the effectiveness of our systems in their plants. With Amesphere and all the data aspects I mentioned earlier, this synergy will only grow stronger. The data collected from their plants is shared back with precise information to assist them in their production and safety strategies.

10. How does AME collaborate with other LogiMAT exhibitors and industry partners to enhance the intralogistics ecosystem, and are there any specific collaborations that stand out?

We collaborate with clients, partners, and exhibitors at LogiMAT as well. For instance, by installing our systems on Still forklift trucks. Additionally, the Still sales team can bring their clients to our booth to showcase our full range of solutions (Amesphere Ecosystem) the data platform, and delve into the technical aspects with the AME team.

11. Considering LogiMAT's themes of sustainability, AI, and ergonomics, how does AME envision its Advanced Microwave Engineering solutions contributing to broader industry goals and challenges?

There's been much talk about sustainability, and it's increasingly in focus. However, we not only discuss it but also assert that we've built our entire DNA around it. We are socially sustainable because we ensure worker safety with our systems. We operate within the sphere of social sustainability.

12. In the context of LogiMAT's exhibition focus on materials handling, storage technology, and related areas, how does AME tailor its Advanced Microwave Engineering solutions to address the specific needs of these sectors?

To answer this question, I refer back to the concepts expressed earlier. AME is committed to providing innovative solutions to ensure workplace safety and optimize operational efficiency in the fields of intralogistics and manufacturing.

13. Can you share any success stories or notable achievements where AME's Advanced Microwave Engineering technology has had a positive impact on the intralogistics industry?

I could tell many success stories because, as I mentioned earlier, meeting our clients and working closely with them often leads to great satisfaction on their part. Instead of focusing on a single client, I'd like to talk about a specific sector, such as the paper industry. This sector was among the first ones we approached at the beginning of our business, and it remains very important to us today. In this sector, we have some of our main brand ambassadors, which are loyal customers who, after implementing our systems, have extended this approach to all their international plants. Among these, we like to mention Sofidel Group, which was the first to believe in Amesphere and implemented it in many of its facilities across Europe in just a few months.

14. LogiMAT's success is based on three strategic components. How does AME fit into these components, especially in terms of being a marketplace for trade talks, providing direct know-how transfer through trade forums, and offering hands-on solutions through live demonstrations?

This year at LogiMAT, we've implemented many of these commercial and product know-how transfer moments. On one hand, as I mentioned, we've strengthened collaborations with partners like Still. Additionally, within our booth, we've scheduled sessions in English and German to thoroughly explain our systems and demonstrate how they work in real-time. Our sales team will be available to delve into every aspect of the Amesphere ecosystem one-on-one. Finally, this year, I'll be delivering a speech in the LogiMAT Arena to elevate the safety culture and help people appreciate and understand how crucial it is in this safety-focused world to discuss objective rather than subjective assessments, KPIs, and genuinely useful information for various stakeholders (Plant managers, Logistic managers, Operation managers, etc.).