Halseide, Martin Amaral

Sgarbossa, Fabio

Timenes, Atle

English

Georgia Southern University: Digital Commons@Georgia Southern

16th International Material Handling Research ColloquiumDresden, Saxony, Germany, June 20-23, 2023Warehouse robotization with Wheel.me genius: A puzzle-based movable racks systemFabio Sgarbossa*, Martin Amaral Halseide**, Atle Timenes***Norwegian University of Science and Technology, ** Wheel.me  Motivation• There is a need for compact and responsive storage systems(online retailing, e-commerce, micro-fulfillment centers, etc)• Storing goods and operating a warehouse require space andlabor• Automation and robotization can play an important role• Some solutions have been recently introduced, like RoboticMobile Fulfillment (RMF) systems and Puzzle-Based Storage(PBS) systems, among the others.• PBSs are still not widely adopted mainly for technical reasons.They need conveyors,driving modules or AGVsto move objects in a gridsystem.ResultsPuzzle-based movable rack systemSgarbossa et al, 2021Yu et al, 2021• Literature categorizes RMF systems and PBS systems in twoseparate branches of automated picking systems.• They are moveable rack systems and grid-based dynamicstorage systems, respectively.• RMF systems have been less concerned with achieving veryhigh densities, but in return, achieve very high picking ratesand throughput capacity.• Research about PBS systems has been aimed at reducingretrieval times while maintaining storage density towards theabsolute upper limits.• No large-scale PBS system with moveable storage racks hasbeen investigated.• In this research, we will link these two branches of automatedpicking systems to improve the trade-off between storagedensity and throughput capacity, mounting autonomouswheels to storage racks.• We will assume that racks can move autonomously andindependently, thus assuming a puzzle-based moveable racksystem.• Moreover, we include also the possibility to move DIAGONALLYAnalytical model• Density• Average travel distance• Average cycle time𝑡𝑐 (𝑚, 𝑛)  =  (𝛽(𝑚,𝑛)  + 𝑑 (𝑚,𝑛))𝑣 Conclusion and future work• Logistics 4.0 Lab (NTNU) started a collaborationwith wheel.me on the use of autonomous wheels.• By mounting autonomous wheels to an object, theobject can move autonomously in ANY DIRECTION.• We created 1st puzzle based movable rack system,so high density and high throughput performance,even more exploiting the diagonal movements.• We develop an analytical model for a modularrepresentation of the problem (square +rectangular sub-grids) and validate with simulation• We demonstrate the high density (around 90-95%)and higher throughput compared to Manhattanmovements (+ about 18%).• Future research will focus on:• Multi-objectives optimization (density vs throughput)• Sequencing of loads, Storage assignment policies and new operational logics(dynamic I/O location)• Real testing and first implementation needed to validate the results also in realoperational conditions (smart logistics in library sector, e-commerce)

Warehouse robotization with wheel.me Genius: A puzzle-based movable racks system

https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1080&context=imhrc

Warehouse robotization with wheel.me Genius: A puzzle-based movable racks system

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