Mobile Robot Automation in Warehouses : A Framework for Decision Making and Integration

1.       Introduction

This chapter will present sector trends and importance of automation and mobile robot solutions in warehouses (why they are being used and how can they help to the warehouse). It will provide a list of key players in the market and convergence in services offered as their unique selling points.

2.       Methodology

This chapter will provide details on the systematic literature review methodology followed to produce the state-of-the-art in mobile robot automation. It will explain the application process, inclusion/exclusion/quality criteria, and other analysis details for the pool of peer-reviewed papers. The chapter is necessary for reproducibility and replicability reasons. Although at the time the book is written, it is recent, as time passes, the reader may wish to identify papers that are published after the book, and they can follow the methodology explained in this chapter for that purpose.

2.1.     Planning the Review

2.2.     Conducting the Review

3.       Mobile Robot Systems and Their Evaluation

This chapter will provide definitions of ten mobile robot systems incorporating suitable practical (company) examples and case analyses as applicable in support of the book's goals. It will evaluate these systems using a multiple-criteria rating approach, where the criteria are also identified through the literature review. The five criteria used in the analysis are: mobile robot cost, flexibility in material handling, flexibility in the infrastructure, scalability, and time to implement. The chapter will provide justifications for these criteria when selecting a mobile robot automation system. Then, the ten mobile robot systems are rated on a 3-point scale in each criterion where the higher the score, the better the performance in the given criterion. The rationale for this multi-criteria selection support for mobile robot systems is further explained with multiple realistic warehouse scenarios with decision trees and using supply chain experts' judgments on each criterion to provide guided examples of the approach.

3.1.     Linear Route Mobile Robots

3.1.1.  Rail Using Mobile Robots

3.1.2.  Wire Using Mobile Robots

3.2.     Guided Mobile Robots

3.2.1.  Barcode-Guided Mobile Robots

3.2.2.  Laser-Guided Mobile Robots

3.3.     Freeway Mobile Robots

3.3.1.  Autonomous Forklifts and Pallet Trucks

3.3.2.  Human-collaborated Mobile Robots

3.3.3.  Mobile Picking Robots

3.4.     Hybrid Systems

3.4.1.  AS/RS, Conveyors, and Linear Mobile Robots

3.4.2.  Picker and Transport Robots

3.4.3.  Laser-Guided Mobile Robots and Pallet Shuttles

3.5.     Realistic Scenarios and Guided Examples of Evaluation Criteria

3.6.     Practical Value of the Chapter



4.       Mobile Robot Management: Focus Areas at the Strategic Level

This chapter will present strategic level decisions for mobile robot automation in warehouses which involve comprehensive, long-term business decisions such as the desired warehouse performance metrics and the type of mobile robot systems. These decisions are generally taken before the installation stage of mobile robot systems, and they are rather difficult to alter during the implementation. The effects of these decisions occur in the long run which might be years.

4.1.     Identifying the Criteria for Mobile Robot System Evaluation (According to which criteria to choose a mobile robot system