An algorithm for routing heterogeneous vehicles in robotized warehouses

Abstract

Over the past decades, warehouses and storage facilities have been using robotic vehicles in order to lower the cost of production and increase overall efficiency. Many researchers have attempted to solve the internal routing problem of a warehouse, and as a result, there are a number of routing algorithms that could potentially be used in a warehouse. However, most of them are static and cannot take multiple robots and their characteristics into account. This paper proposes an innovative algorithm to solve this problem. The algorithm utilizes multiple robots, tailoring the path for each robot based on its specifications, i.e., speed, type and current position in order to reduce the delivery time and overall increase the efficiency of the warehouse. We have performed an experimental evaluation of the algorithm in multiple artificially synthetic warehouse environments and demonstrated that the algorithm can find a solution in all environments within reasonable time frame.