Industrial Indoor Localization: Improvement
of Logistics Processes Using Location Based
Services
Niklas Hesslein
(B )
, Mike Wesselhöft , Johannes Hinckeldeyn,
and Jochen Kreutzfeldt
Hamburg University of Technology, Theodor-Yorck-Straße 8, 21079 Hamburg, Germany
itl@tuhh.de
Abstract. The function of logistics is to move objects from place A to place
B Therefore it is an important task to determine the position of objects
along the supply chain. Up to now, different technologies for indoor local-
ization have been developed. During this technological evolution, two impor-
tant aspects have been left behind, the communication between the sys-
tems and the central management of the data provided. Within the research
project ‘Industrial Indoor Localization’, an open source software standard
for environment modeling called ‘Reference Architecture Indoor Localiza-
tion’ (RAIL) has been designed and tested. This protocol enables Location
Based Services to allow querying location and object information quickly. Within
the scope of the project, four services are being developed and exemplary described
in this paper. At the beginning, a location-dependent order allocation algorithm
for order picking is presented. This algorithm reduces the waiting time in narrow-
aisle warehouses through forecasting. Secondly, an order orchestration service
based on location data for picking control is evaluated. Furthermore, a functional
area recognition to support picking and a service for finding points of interest
is demonstrated, which includes navigation based on a routing algorithm. Using
indoor localization, these services improve the intralogistical processes. These
include increasing picking performance or reducing order throughput time by
eliminating the need to scan the barcode. Finally, these services increase work
safety, due to consideration of functional areas, and improve the transparency of
the location of points of interest.
1 Introduction
The intensifying digitalization in production and logistics provides a wide range of pos-
sibilities for optimization of processes in manufacturing and transportation companies.
Especially in the field of real time localization a great amount of data is collected and
ready for further use. The combination of this data generated by different localization
systems with other operational data is necessary to draw further conclusions and thus
provides number of various interfaces. In addition to a high programming effort, these
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer-Verlag GmbH, DE,
part of Springer Nature 2021
P. Weißgraeber et al. (Eds.): Advances in Automotive Production Technology – Theory
and Application, ARENA2036, pp. 460–467, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-62962-8_53