Swarm Robotics in a Sustainable Warehouse Automation: Opportunities, Challenges and Solutions

¹ Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, 360101, Nigeria.
² Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Technology, University of Johannesburg, 2006, South Africa.
³ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Nile University of Nigeria, F.C.T., 900001, Nigeria
⁴ Department of Mechanical and Construction Engineering, Northumbria University, Newcastle, United Kingdom.

^* Corresponding author: ikumapayi.omolayo@gmail.com

Abstract

The Over 90% of the jobs in the logistics industry between 2010 and 2014 came from freight transport and storage services, according to statistics from the Census and Statistics Department. With the advent of Industry 4.0 and its associated emerging technologies (such as cloud computing, Internet of Things, autonomous robots, etc.), a smart robotic warehouse management system is recommended. These innovations transform picking and put-away procedures in warehouses by enabling autonomous mobile robots to transition from man-to-goods to goods-to-man. A group of robots collaborate to solve problems in swarm robotics by putting together practical structures and behaviours that are similar to those found in flocks of birds, schools of fish, or swarms of bees. However, the transition to industrial applications has not yet been completed to a satisfactory level. There is a dearth of knowledge in the literature regarding real-world swarm applications that make use of swarm algorithms. Typically, swarm algorithm components—or what we call basic swarm behaviours —are used. This paper therefore discusses the opportunities available for this technology as well as the challenges that may come with their use. Finally, some possible solutions have been proposed to help tackle the identified challenges in sustainable warehouse automation.