Mobile Robots Transporting Cargo Holders to Reduce Picker Travel Time
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current order-picking processes in warehouses are labor-intensive and inefficient, particularly in operations with low items per order or high numbers of orders, leading to excessive travel time and congestion, which increases costs and reduces productivity.
Innovation Solution
The integration of mobile robots with human-operated order picker lifts to transport items, where robots take over the task of moving cargo holders, allowing the human operator to focus on picking and minimizing travel time, with a warehouse fleet manager system controlling the robots to optimize their movements and interactions with the order picker.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If human order pickers manually transport cargo holders through warehouse aisles, then flexibility in handling different order configurations is maintained, but travel time becomes excessive and labor costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of manual forklift operation with an autonomous mobile robot equipped with sensors and navigation capabilities. The robot autonomously transports cargo holders through the warehouse, eliminating the need for human operators to manually drive forklifts while maintaining the mechanical function of moving heavy loads.
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile robot is equipped with autonomous navigation systems, obstacle detection sensors, and automated cargo handling mechanisms that enable it to perform the complete transport cycle without human intervention. The robot independently navigates aisles, positions cargo holders at transfer points, and returns for additional loads, making the system self-sufficient.
2Productivity
If multiple human pickers work in the same warehouse areas, then order processing capacity increases, but congestion from many pickers working in the same areas slows down the processing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the warehouse into multiple zones with designated transfer points where mobile robots deposit and pick up cargo holders. This segmentation allows multiple robots to operate simultaneously in different areas without interfering with each other, effectively increasing throughput while maintaining high processing speeds through coordinated zone-based operations.
3Ease of operation
If human operators spend time both picking items and transporting cargo holders, then comprehensive control over the picking process is maintained, but the time spent transporting reduces the time available for picking
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the transportation function from the human operator's task portfolio and assigns it to autonomous mobile robots. Human operators now focus exclusively on the value-added activity of selecting and placing items in cargo holders, while robots handle the non-value-added transportation tasks, thereby increasing the proportion of time spent on productive picking activities.
Data Source
AI summary
Robotic automation and methods described herein can be used to enhance the efficiencies of order fulfillment and inventory stowage processes. For example, this document describes the use of mobile robots in conjunction with a human order picker to pick and transport items for order fulfillment processes in an efficient manner. The described systems and methods allow the elimination of human labor particularly related to transporting saleable goods and similar items. Mobile robots take over many of the tasks related to transporting the picked items. Accordingly, the efficiency of the human order picker, as measured by the number of line items picked per hour for example, is greatly enhanced.