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Warehouses with heterogeneous robots collaboration: operational policies and performance analysis.

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Title: Warehouses with heterogeneous robots collaboration: operational policies and performance analysis.
Authors: Kang, Yuexin1,2 (AUTHOR), Wang, Rong3 (AUTHOR), Qin, Zhizhen1,2 (AUTHOR), Yang, Peng1,2 (AUTHOR) yang.peng@sz.tsinghua.edu.cn, Yan, Yimo4 (AUTHOR)
Source: International Journal of Production Research. Dec2025, Vol. 63 Issue 23, p8698-8726. 29p.
Subjects: Mobile robots, Warehouse management, Industrial productivity, Management science, System analysis, Industrial robots, Queueing networks
Abstract: The novel heterogeneous autonomous mobile robots collaborative storage and retrieval systems (H-AMRs systems), now widely adopted, feature collaboration between bin picker (BP) and bin mover (BM) autonomous mobile robots. In these systems, BP robots retrieve bins from storage locations and lower them to buffer areas beneath the storage racks, where BM robots then transport the bins to picking stations for order fulfilment. The intricate interaction between these two types of robots significantly complicates the evaluation and analysis of system performance and operational policies. This paper pioneers research on H-AMRs systems by developing a multi-class nested queuing network model to estimate system performance. Numerical experiments indicate that reshuffling policies have minimal impact on throughput time due to the distinct relay between BP and BM robots, and deploying 10 additional BP robots and 3 additional BM robots beyond the minimum required quantities proves cost-efficient. Assigning BP robots to specific aisles reduces throughput time by up to 26.1%; compared to shared assignments under a sufficient budget. Moreover, when BP robots share aisle assignments, the optimal storage policy depends on the warehouse layout. Conversely, with aisle-specific assignments for BP robots, a zoned storage policy aligned with aisle direction consistently optimises performance, regardless of the warehouse layout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of International Journal of Production Research is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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DbLabel: Engineering Source
An: 189849831
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  Data: Warehouses with heterogeneous robots collaboration: operational policies and performance analysis.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kang%2C+Yuexin%22">Kang, Yuexin</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wang%2C+Rong%22">Wang, Rong</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Qin%2C+Zhizhen%22">Qin, Zhizhen</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Yang%2C+Peng%22">Yang, Peng</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> yang.peng@sz.tsinghua.edu.cn</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Yan%2C+Yimo%22">Yan, Yimo</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22International+Journal+of+Production+Research%22">International Journal of Production Research</searchLink>. Dec2025, Vol. 63 Issue 23, p8698-8726. 29p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mobile+robots%22">Mobile robots</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Warehouse+management%22">Warehouse management</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Industrial+productivity%22">Industrial productivity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Management+science%22">Management science</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22System+analysis%22">System analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Industrial+robots%22">Industrial robots</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Queueing+networks%22">Queueing networks</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: The novel heterogeneous autonomous mobile robots collaborative storage and retrieval systems (H-AMRs systems), now widely adopted, feature collaboration between bin picker (BP) and bin mover (BM) autonomous mobile robots. In these systems, BP robots retrieve bins from storage locations and lower them to buffer areas beneath the storage racks, where BM robots then transport the bins to picking stations for order fulfilment. The intricate interaction between these two types of robots significantly complicates the evaluation and analysis of system performance and operational policies. This paper pioneers research on H-AMRs systems by developing a multi-class nested queuing network model to estimate system performance. Numerical experiments indicate that reshuffling policies have minimal impact on throughput time due to the distinct relay between BP and BM robots, and deploying 10 additional BP robots and 3 additional BM robots beyond the minimum required quantities proves cost-efficient. Assigning BP robots to specific aisles reduces throughput time by up to 26.1%; compared to shared assignments under a sufficient budget. Moreover, when BP robots share aisle assignments, the optimal storage policy depends on the warehouse layout. Conversely, with aisle-specific assignments for BP robots, a zoned storage policy aligned with aisle direction consistently optimises performance, regardless of the warehouse layout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of International Journal of Production Research is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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    Identifiers:
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        Value: 10.1080/00207543.2025.2513576
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 29
        StartPage: 8698
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      – SubjectFull: Mobile robots
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Warehouse management
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Industrial productivity
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      – SubjectFull: Management science
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      – SubjectFull: System analysis
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      – SubjectFull: Industrial robots
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Queueing networks
        Type: general
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      – TitleFull: Warehouses with heterogeneous robots collaboration: operational policies and performance analysis.
        Type: main
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            NameFull: Kang, Yuexin
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            NameFull: Wang, Rong
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            NameFull: Qin, Zhizhen
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            NameFull: Yang, Peng
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            – D: 01
              M: 12
              Text: Dec2025
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
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