Institute of Transport and Automation Technology Research Publications
Autonomous Systems in Intralogistics – State of the Art and Future Research Challenges

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

Categories Zeitschriften/Aufsätze (reviewed)
Year 2021
Authors J. Fottner, D. Clauer, F. Hormes, M. Freitag, T. Beinke, L. Overmeyer, S. N. Gottwald, R. Elbert, T. Sarnow, T. Schmidt, K.-B. Reith, H. Zadek, F. Thomas
Published in Logistics Research 14:2
Description

The paper at hand presents a definition of autonomousintralogistics systems and a classification ofintralogistics systems with regard to their degree ofautonomy. Intralogistics − a complex interplay ofdifferent logistics functions − covers the organization,control, execution and optimization of internal materialand information flows. Over the past two decades,numerous authors have observed and proclaimed anincrease in complexity in manufacturing and supplychain operations. A key approach to face this challengeis a paradigm shift from centralized, hierarchicalorganization structures towards, networked andautonomous systems. Autonomous intralogisticssystems enable self-contained, decentralized planning,execution, control, and optimization of internalmaterial and information flows through cooperationand interaction with other systems and with humans.Based on the definition of autonomous intralogisticssystems, the authors propose a two-dimensionalclassification framework covering different automationstages for different intralogistics task levels. Thedeveloped classification framework is applied tovarious industry use cases to evaluate and discussthe state of the art regarding the implementation ofautonomous intralogistics systems. Finally, the paperprovides an outlook on future research and poses keyresearch questions.

DOI 10.23773/2021_2