Ergonomic evaluation of human–robot collaborative order picking

ǂa ǂcombined laboratory and simulation study

Minqi Zhang (Author), Jakob Marolt (Author), Primož Bencak (Author), Eric Grosse (Author), Tone Lerher (Author)

Abstract

Thanks to rapid technological developments in robotics, various automation technologies are being applied in warehouses today. Order picking, as a key process in warehouse operations, has drawn attention in academia and practice for decades. In addition to many studies dedicated to manual and fully automated order picking, efforts have also been made to study semi-automated warehouses in which humans and robots collaborate. However, these studies mostly focused on system efficiency and ignored ergonomic aspects. Order picking was confirmed as a labor-intensive process in an environment in which workers are at a high risk of developing health problems. Therefore, this study addresses the investigation of physical human working conditions in both manual and robot-assisted order picking systems via real-life laboratory experiments and simulation modeling. We used a motion capture system to assess human working postures when working with and without robot assistance. In addition, we estimated the daily workload by applying the energy expenditure concept. Using simulation experiments, we were able to extend the results to various practical scenarios with different design variables, for example warehouse layouts, order sizes, and human-robot team configuration. Our preliminary results reveal that human-robot collaboration can reduce human workload. Posture evaluation also shows a slight improvement.

Keywords

order picking;autonomous mobile robot;human factors;ergonomics;assisted order picking;hybrid order picking;simulation;performance evaluation;

Data

Language:	English
Year of publishing:	2024
Typology:	1.08 - Published Scientific Conference Contribution
Organization:	UM FL - Faculty of Logistics
UDC:	007.52:658
COBISS:	215830787
ISSN:	2405-8963
Views:	0
Downloads:	0
Average score:	0 (0 votes)
Metadata:

Other data

Secondary language:	Slovenian
Secondary keywords:	komisioniranje;avtonomni mobilni robot;človeški faktorji;ergonomija;komisioniranje z asistenco;hibridno komisioniranje;simulacija;evalvacija delovanja;
Type (COBISS):	Article
Pages:	Str. 1042-1047
Volume:	ǂissue ǂ19
Issue:	ǂVol. ǂ58
Chronology:	2024
DOI:	10.1016/j.ifacol.2024.09.137
ID:	25405208