24th Conference of the International Federation of Operational Research Societies
Abstract Submission

2709. Hop on/hop off: Cooperative order picking of an autonomous drive-on picking cart and a human order picker

Invited abstract in session MC-34: Planning and scheduling picking operations in collaborative environments, stream Warehousing.

Monday, 10:30-12:00
Room: JUR – Hörsaal 16

Authors (first author is the speaker)

1. Tobias Kroll
Lehrstuhl für ABWL/ Operations Management, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena
2. Nils Boysen
Lehrstuhl für ABWL/ Operations Management, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena
3. Stefan Bock
WINFOR (Business Computing and Operations Research) Schumpeter School of Business and Economics, University of Wuppertal

Abstract

In workforce‑shortage contexts, robotic collaboration can streamline order picking while retaining flexibility. Ride‑on picking carts (cobots) transport drivers, letting the picker hop off, collect items, then deposit and hop on elsewhere. We model routing for picker‑cobot tandems under various speed ratios and traffic rules. If cross‑aisle walking is forbidden, we give a polynomial-time algorithm; otherwise, we use a decomposition heuristic. Experiments show efficiency gains depend on layout, speed relations, and regulations, pinpointing where human‑cobot cooperation is beneficial.

Keywords

Status: accepted


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