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OP-MR: the implementation of order picking based on mixed reality in a smart warehouse

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Abstract

This paper presents a mixed-reality (MR) application called order picking with mixed reality (OP-MR) for the order-picking activities in a smart warehouse. OP-MR is a set of applications operated by an administrator through a computer server and by the staff using the HoloLens MR device. OP-MR is built to reduce the operational time of an order-picking activity by providing the shortest route to the staff. The HoloLens device displays the order-picking instructions through the MR window, renders virtual navigation, and virtually marks the positions of items. For determining the shortest distance for an order picking, the proposed OP-MR method combines two different algorithms, namely the Held–Karp algorithm in the server and A* algorithm in the client. The Held–Karp algorithm sorts the items in the pick-up list based on the nearest position. Next, the A* algorithm determines the shortest route to ensure that a user travels the shortest distance to pick all the items. To show the effectiveness of the proposed OP-MR method, OP-MR is implemented and experiments are performed. The experimental results show that OP-MR outperforms paper-based order-picking from the viewpoint of completing all the order picking.

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Notes

  1. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/hololens.

  2. https://www.jhipster.tech.

  3. https://github.com/Sinclert/Heuristics-TSP.

  4. https://arongranberg.com/astar/.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Kumoh National Institute of Technology (KIT), Gumi, Republic of Korea (No.2019-104-139).

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Correspondence to Soo Young Shin.

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Latif, U.K., Shin, S.Y. OP-MR: the implementation of order picking based on mixed reality in a smart warehouse. Vis Comput 36, 1491–1500 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00371-019-01745-z

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