Roborigger & TEC partner on spreaders

Australian-based Roborigger has partnered with Spain’s TEC ­Container to offer “the market’s first fixed spreader featuring ­remote rotation capabilities”.

Roborigger has developed a wireless load control system that uses a flywheel to create inertial forces to accurately rotate and orient crane loads using the ‘reaction wheel’ principle derived from Newton’s third law. Its range includes modular load controllers in capacities up to 50 tonnes.

The first Roborigger system was deployed in the construction industry in 2018. Roborigger entered the container handling sector in 2021, when coastal freighter operator Sea Swift deployed the system in Queensland, Australia, to manage container loading using ship cranes without the need for ground personnel to hold physical taglines to manually guide and rotate swinging cargo containers into the correct position. Roborigger reduced the normal loading time from around 13 hours to under 11 hours. Loading required fewer personnel, and containers could be positioned accurately and consistently, regardless of the wind strength.

The first applications of Roborigger for lifting containers used a Roborigger attached to the hook, relying on controlling slings attached to 20ft and 40ft semi-automatic fixed-frame spreaders. This presented challenges. Partnering with TEC Container has enabled Roborigger to leverage TEC’s expertise in fixed frame spreaders, which includes hundreds of deliveries for ship cranes and other equipment that does not have electricity available at the hook.

This story was originally published by World Cargo News. Read the full story at World Cargo News →