Autonomous Systems in Intralogistics – State of the Art and Future Research Challenges

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Johannes Fottner - , Technical University of Munich (Author)
  • Dana Clauer - , Technical University of Munich (Author)
  • Fabian Hormes - , Technical University of Munich (Author)
  • Michael Freitag - , University of Bremen (Author)
  • Thies Beinke - , University of Bremen (Author)
  • Ludger Overmeyer - , Leibniz University Hannover (LUH) (Author)
  • Simon Nicolas Gottwald - , Leibniz University Hannover (LUH) (Author)
  • Ralf Elbert - , Technische Universität Darmstadt (Author)
  • Tessa Sarnow - , Technische Universität Darmstadt (Author)
  • Thorsten Schmidt - , Chair of Material Handling (Author)
  • Karl-Benedikt Reith - , Chair of Material Handling (Author)
  • Hartmut Zadek - , Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg (Author)
  • Franziska Thomas - , Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg (Author)

Abstract

The paper at hand presents a definition of autonomous intralogistics systems and a classification of intralogistics systems with regard to their degree of autonomy. Intralogistics-a complex interplay of different logistics functions-covers the organization, control, execution and optimization of internal material and information flows. Over the past two decades, numerous authors have observed and proclaimed an increase in complexity in manufacturing and supply chain operations. A key approach to face this challenge is a paradigm shift from centralized, hierarchical organization structures towards, networked and autonomous systems. Autonomous intralogistics systems enable self-contained, decentralized planning, execution, control, and optimization of internal material and information flows through cooperation and interaction with other systems and with humans. Based on the definition of autonomous intralogistics systems, the authors propose a two-dimensional classification framework covering different automation stages for different intralogistics task levels. The developed classification framework is applied to various industry use cases to evaluate and discuss the state of the art regarding the implementation of autonomous intralogistics systems. Finally, the paper provides an outlook on future research and poses key research questions.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number2
Number of pages41
JournalLogistics Research
Volume14
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - 10 Feb 2021
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0002-1484-7187/work/142243094
Scopus 85102209049

Keywords

Keywords

  • classification framework, intralogistics, logistics, autonomous systems, decentralization, mobile robotics