Title :
Future challenges of coordinating hundreds of autonomous vehicles in distribution facilities
Author :
Andrea, Raffaello D. ; Wurman, Peter
Author_Institution :
ETH Zurich, Zurich
Abstract :
The Kiva mobile fulfillment system (Kiva MFS) uses a breakthrough new approach to order fulfillment - one that simultaneously improves productivity, speed, accuracy, and flexibility. With the Kiva MFS, operators stand still while the products come to them. Pallets, cases, and orders are stored on inventory pods that are picked up and moved by hundreds of mobile robotic drive units. As a result, any product can go to any operator. The largest installation to date is a 500 robot system for an office supply company in the United States. Videos and other related information may be found at www.kivasystems.com.
Keywords :
goods distribution; mobile robots; Kiva mobile fulfillment system; autonomous vehicles; distribution facilities; inventory pods; mobile robotic drive units; Control systems; Costs; Fasteners; Mobile robots; Productivity; Real time systems; Remotely operated vehicles; Robot kinematics; Robust control; Videos;
Conference_Titel :
Technologies for Practical Robot Applications, 2008. TePRA 2008. IEEE International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Woburn, MA
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-2791-8
Electronic_ISBN :
978-1-4244-2792-5
DOI :
10.1109/TEPRA.2008.4686677