Future Challenges of Coordinating Hundreds of Autonomous Vehicles in Distribution Facilities
Future challenges of coordinating hundreds of autonomous vehicles in distribution facilities
Raffaello D’Andrea, ETH Zurich, Switzerland, rdandrea@ethz.ch Peter Wurman, Kiva Systems, Woburn, MA, pwurman@kivasystems.com
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.
of robust autonomous vehicles, real-time wireless control of hundreds of moving vehicles, the coordination of these vehicles, and the various algorithms that allow the system to adapt and reconfigure itself based on the environment and operating conditions. In the second part of this paper we will outline various technological innovations that would increase the applicability of our approach, either by increasing capabilities or by reducing costs, both of which will make the system more attractive to a wider range of users and applications.
I. I NTRODUCTION
Fig. 1.
Portion of a Kiva warehouse.
Order fulfillment is a multi-billion dollar business. Existing solutions range from the highly automated–whose cost effectiveness is inversely related to their flexibility – to people pushing carts around in warehouses manually filling orders – which is very flexible but not very cost effective. In the first part of this paper we will describe a radical new approach to order fulfillment that is both flexible and cost effective. The key idea is to use hundreds of networked, autonomous vehicles that carry inventory storing pods to human operators.
Raffaello D’Andrea, ETH Zurich, Switzerland, rdandrea@ethz.ch Peter Wurman, Kiva Systems, Woburn, MA, pwurman@kivasystems.com
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.
of robust autonomous vehicles, real-time wireless control of hundreds of moving vehicles, the coordination of these vehicles, and the various algorithms that allow the system to adapt and reconfigure itself based on the environment and operating conditions. In the second part of this paper we will outline various technological innovations that would increase the applicability of our approach, either by increasing capabilities or by reducing costs, both of which will make the system more attractive to a wider range of users and applications.
I. I NTRODUCTION
Fig. 1.
Portion of a Kiva warehouse.
Order fulfillment is a multi-billion dollar business. Existing solutions range from the highly automated–whose cost effectiveness is inversely related to their flexibility – to people pushing carts around in warehouses manually filling orders – which is very flexible but not very cost effective. In the first part of this paper we will describe a radical new approach to order fulfillment that is both flexible and cost effective. The key idea is to use hundreds of networked, autonomous vehicles that carry inventory storing pods to human operators.