Cyngn, an autonomous vehicle technology company, has partnered with Chandler Automation to expand its dealer network and enter the agriculture and food processing segment. As part of the partnership, Chandler Automation will offer Cyngn’s autonomous DriveMod Tugger to food processors and packers, extending autonomous in-plant material movement capabilities into agri-food supply chains.
Automation Integrator Brings Autonomous Tuggers to Agri-Food Plants
Chandler Automation operates as a full-service factory automation partner with a focus on optical sorting, inspection systems, robotic palletizing, and custom processing machinery for food and agricultural processors. The company supports customers from concept development through commissioning, integrating automation across inspection, packaging, and palletizing environments. Its work is aimed at helping processors manage labor availability, operational complexity, and cost pressures within existing production facilities.
Addressing Manual Transport Gaps Inside Processing Facilities
Through the partnership, Chandler Automation will introduce Cyngn’s DriveMod Tugger as an in-plant logistics solution designed for food processing and packing environments. The autonomous tugger is intended to automate high-frequency, repetitive material transport between upstream processing lines and downstream inspection, packaging, and palletizing stations. In many agri-food plants, these internal movements continue to rely on manual carts or forklifts, even where inspection and packaging operations have already been automated.
Autonomous Material Movement Between Processing and Packaging Lines
Cyngn stated that the collaboration builds on its broader momentum deploying DriveMod across multiple industrial sectors, with agriculture and food processing now established as a dedicated vertical. The DriveMod Tugger is positioned as a tool to help processors close internal logistics gaps by enabling autonomous movement of materials between production stages, supporting more consistent flows within plant operations.
Retrofitting Existing Vehicles for In-Plant Logistics
A key aspect of the DriveMod approach is its ability to retrofit existing industrial vehicles rather than requiring new infrastructure or major facility redesign. Cyngn noted that this allows food producers to deploy autonomous material handling within current plant layouts, reducing disruption and aligning automation investments with existing workflows and space constraints common in processing and packing facilities.
Commenting on the partnership, Lior Tal said that Chandler Automation’s established presence in the food processing ecosystem positions it to introduce autonomous logistics into agricultural operations. He noted that as food producers increase their investment in automation across processing, inspection, and packaging, autonomous movement of product between these stages presents an opportunity to improve uptime and throughput within plants.
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From the integrator’s perspective, Sean Chandler said that many processors have modernized inspection and packaging systems but still depend on manual transport between stations. He added that the autonomous vehicle platform aligns with the continuous-flow operations customers are designing, providing a way to extend automation beyond fixed equipment and into internal material movement.
DriveMod Tugger Capabilities and Operational Design
The DriveMod Tugger combines Cyngn’s autonomous software with heavy-duty industrial tow tractors manufactured by Motrec, converting them into autonomous mobile robots capable of handling demanding material-handling tasks. Once deployed, the tugger trains are designed to operate continuously, including during overnight shifts, and to complete assigned missions without interruption. The system makes real-time decisions while integrating with warehouse management systems to support mission deployment within plant environments.
The platform supports flexible, programmable capabilities, including automated hitching and unhitching, and is configured to handle hauling capacities of up to 12,000 pounds. Cyngn emphasizes that the DriveMod Tugger is built on industry-tested Motrec vehicles, supporting consistent performance while remaining straightforward to operate and maintain.
Productivity, Labor, and Safety Outcomes in Focus
According to Cyngn, companies deploying its high-capacity autonomous tuggers to automate material movement typically report a 33 percent increase in productivity, a 64 percent reduction in labor costs, and an average payback period of 18 months. The system incorporates safety features such as 360-degree obstacle and pedestrian tracking, emergency stop buttons, and safety lighting, addressing risks associated with manual forklift and cart operations in busy processing environments.
Positioning Autonomous Logistics Within Agri-Food Automation
Within agriculture and food processing, the partnership targets processors and packers facing labor shortages alongside pressure to increase uptime and internal efficiency. Automating in-plant logistics is positioned as a way to reduce reliance on manual transport, improve safety, and support more consistent material flows between processing stages. Cyngn develops autonomous vehicle technology for industrial customers, with DriveMod available on platforms such as Motrec MT-160 tuggers and BYD forklifts, while Chandler Automation continues to serve almond, food, and industrial processors with integrated automation solutions tailored to agri-food operations.