Autor: Michael Freitag

The integration of autonomous control methods into central PPC-systems enables a high logistics target achievement despite occurring dynamic influences. Thereby, the integration requires coupling strategies to specify the harmonisation of autonomous control and central planning methods. The logistics target achievement and the adherence to given planning parameters depend on the specific strategy and the related level of autonomy. This paper introduces a target system which enables the evaluation of coupling strategies considering both logistics target achievement and the adherence to given planning para-meters. Thereby, producing companies are enabled to consider both aspects for the selection of suitable planning and control methods.

The use of forklift trucks implies a high risk of accidents in intra-logistics. Due to the demographic change and the forthcoming skilled worker shortage, it becomes more and more important for logistics companies to preserve the health of their workers, since the loss of know-how can often not be compensated especially in small and medium-sized enterprises. Therefore, the development of new technologies, that raise safety and efficiency and that support cognitive ability in working environments, will become increasingly important in the future. This article presents the concept of an assistance system for forklift trucks that is developed in the scope of the research project “IntraSafe”. It is based on a linkage of workers and forklifts via infrared technology that enables a combination of collision avoidance and intelligent routing of forklift trucks for increasing safety and efficiency of logistics processes.

To develop solutions tailored to the challenges of logistics, it is necessary to realize the current state of the market as well as market trends. For this reason, BIBA has been conducting the RoboScan study series since 2007. It determines the status quo of applying robotics to logistics and instantly works out one specific area in greater detail. RoboScan’14 is now concerned with “man-machine interaction”. Some results of the study are presented in this article.

The number of cyber-physical systems (CPS) in industrial environments is growing based on the effort of projects like Industrie 4.0. CPS offer the potential to improve processes in modern value networks. By improving processes, especially jobs with no demand for qualified workers can be dispensed. Another effect are jobs being standardised, that they become very monotonous for the workers. For providing satisfying jobs especially for low qualified workers in future working environments some opportunities CPS offer were presented. First opportunities consumer devices offer were presented, second concepts for user-friendly human machine interfaces were illustrated.

For the implementation of autonomous control of transport processes it is tried to transfer well known and approved routing protocols from data communication to transport problems. Here structural differences between data and transportation networks prevent a direct transfer of the protocols, so that several different, particularly adapted protocols with different targets must cooperate in transportation networks. In the following a concept for autonomous controlled transport networks, called “Distributed Logistics Routing Protocol”, is introduced, developed at the CRC 637 “Autonomous Control of Logistic Processes” in Bremen.

Very often material flows within or between companies seem to behave in an irregular manner, which can cause inventory levels to become unpredictable and poorly manageable. This behaviour can especially be observed at high utilisation ratios of means of production or logistics. Commonly, it is assumed to be caused by small disturbances, which can never be completely excluded in practice. For that reason often large efforts are made to minimise disturbances, but the question arises, if it always has to be disturbances that make predictions of e.g. inventory levels difficult for the near future and practically impossible in the long run. Using a small, but re-entrant manufacturing system, this article presents in-vestigations on how even relatively simple networks can develop irregular dynamics.

The new Collaborative Research Centre “Autonomous Cooperating Logistic Processes: A Paradigm Shift and its Limitations”, funded by the German Research Foundation, started on January 1st, 2004 at the University of Bremen. The objective of the new Collaborative Research Centre is systematic and broad investigation and application of “autonomy” as a new paradigm for logistic processes. For this, appropriate concepts and models as well as methods and tools are being researched and developed in twelve scientific sub-projects. In a later phase of the Collaborative Research Centre, the results of this research will be transferred into real logistic applications.