Toyota Accelerates Development of Autonomous Forklifts Using Digital Twins

Digital Twin Toyota Is Accelerating the Rollout of Autonomous Industrial Vehicles

2026-11-06 From Dipl.-Betriebswirt (FH) Bernd Maienschein | Translated by AI 1 min Reading Time

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In developing future autonomous industrial trucks, Toyota Material Handling Europe (TMHE) is now relying on AI-powered simulations and digital twins.

In collaboration with Nvidia and Softserve, Toyota Material Handling Europe has developed a simulation environment that allows autonomous solutions to be tested and validated under realistic conditions before they are deployed for customer use.(Image: TMHE) — In collaboration with Nvidia and Softserve, Toyota Material Handling Europe has developed a simulation environment that allows autonomous solutions to be tested and validated under realistic conditions before they are deployed for customer use.
(Image: TMHE)

Toyota, the world’s largest forklift manufacturer, aims to accelerate the deployment of autonomous industrial trucks by up to 50 percent with the help of digital twins. The companies Nvidia and Softserve are also expected to contribute to this effort; together, they have developed a simulation environment that allows autonomous solutions to be tested and validated under realistic conditions even before they are deployed at customer sites, according to the report. This is also expected to reduce time-to-market by up to 40 percent. Specifically, the project utilizes the libraries from Nvidia Omniverse, the robotics simulation framework Nvidia Isaac Sim, and Softserve’s digital engineering expertise, the company added.

Through virtual commissioning and digital twin technology, we can ensure quality while avoiding muda—that is, waste—even before the actual implementation begins.

Johan Rosén, Senior Vice President of Research & Development at TMHE

To tailor autonomous solutions to a variety of operating conditions at customer sites, TMHE has integrated Nvidia’s Omniverse and Isaac Sim into its own development processes. According to the company, this simulation-based approach makes it possible to optimize and validate these solutions before they are implemented at the actual site.

Don't Waste Time and Resources Unnecessarily

Softserve developed the digital twin environment for this purpose and integrated Nvidia’s technologies into a simulation environment that Toyota Material Handling can use in production. Softserve has been an Nvidia Elite Partner since 2022 and an Nvidia Advanced Technology Partner since 2026. This approach follows Toyota’s “Zero Muda” principle: Unnecessary use of time and resources should be avoided as much as possible before implementation begins at the customer’s site.

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