Autonomous Forklift Automation Kit Mixed Warehouse Operations
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing warehousing systems face challenges in efficiently managing high-density 3D storage spaces, as they are either fully automated or fully manual, leading to high costs and limitations in flexibility and safety when mixing manual and automated operations.
Innovation Solution
The integration of an automation kit for conventional lift trucks and mobile transport units, equipped with digital maps and sensors, allowing them to operate safely and efficiently alongside manual lifts, enabling a gradual transition to full automation and interoperability between manual and automated systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If gantry style S&R units are used for automated storage and retrieval, then fast and accurate response to inventory requests is achieved, but large capital investment and complete system replacement are required
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the S&R functionality into independent modular units that can be deployed incrementally. Instead of requiring a complete gantry system replacement, the invention divides the automation function into separate robotic units that can be added to existing facilities piece by piece, reducing upfront capital investment while maintaining productivity benefits.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from static gantry structures to dynamic mobile robotic units. These robotic S&R units can move freely throughout the warehouse space, adapting to different storage locations and inventory configurations without requiring fixed infrastructure installation, thereby reducing device complexity and capital investment.
2Device complexity
If manual forklift vertical storage systems are used, then flexibility and lower initial cost are maintained, but delays and backlogs occur in responding to inventory requests
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service automation through robotic S&R units that can independently locate, retrieve, and transport inventory without human intervention. These autonomous units respond to inventory requests automatically, eliminating the delays associated with manual forklift operations while keeping the underlying storage infrastructure simple and familiar.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic S&R units are designed as universal platforms that can perform multiple functions including storage, retrieval, and inventory management across different warehouse configurations. This multi-functionality allows a single type of robotic unit to replace various specialized manual equipment, improving response speed while maintaining system simplicity.
3Extent of automation
If fully automated gantry systems are implemented, then automation extent is maximized, but flexibility to mix manual and automated operations is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments automation into independent robotic units that can be selectively deployed in specific zones or for specific tasks. This allows facilities to maintain a mixed environment where some areas operate manually while others are automated, providing flexibility in transitioning to full automation at the organization's pace and budget.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables dynamic mixing of manual and automated operations through mobile robotic units that can be deployed or withdrawn as needed. Unlike fixed gantry systems, these robotic units can adapt to changing operational requirements, allowing facilities to optimize the ratio of manual to automated operations based on real-time demands.
4Productivity
If Kiva-style mobile units with inventory holders are used, then dynamic buffer allocation and optimized S&R performance are achieved, but large ground footprint and all-or-nothing implementation are required
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from 2D floor-based inventory holder movement to 3D vertical forklift operations. By utilizing the vertical dimension that forklifts naturally operate in, the system achieves automated S&R performance without requiring large ground footprints, as forklifts access storage vertically rather than horizontally across the warehouse floor.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies the successful S&R performance optimization concept from Kiva-style systems but adapts it to the forklift platform. Instead of using ground-based mobile units with inventory holders, the invention creates automated forklift units that replicate the intelligent S&R functionality while operating in the vertical dimension, thereby achieving similar performance benefits with reduced ground space requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for automated inventory management and material handling removes the requirement to operate fully automatically or all-manual using conventional vertical storage and retrieval (S&R) machines. Inventory requests to place palletized material into storage at a specified lot location or retrieve palletized material from a specified lot are resolved into missions for autonomous fork trucks, equivalent mobile platforms, or manual fork truck drivers (and their equipment) that are autonomously or manually executed to effect the request. Automated trucks plan their own movements to execute the mission over the warehouse aisles or roadways sharing this space with manually driven trucks. Automated units drive to planned speed limits, manage their loads (stability control), stop, go, and merge at intersections according human driving rules, use on-board sensors to identify static and dynamic obstacles, and human traffic, and either avoid them or stop until potential collision risk is removed.