New project group for SS2016 – Wireless Warehouse – Self-organizing warehouse due to ultra-low-energy communication
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Circuit design, micro-controller programming and the development of a communication protocol for a self-inventorying stock using LEGO-bricks. The project group “Wireless Warehouse” will deal with these tasks at the institute of communication networks during summer semester 2016 and by that create a bridge between the Internet of Things (IoT) and a practical oriented application in the context of Industry 4.0
The topics Industry 4.0 and Internet of Things (IoT) will distribute to stocking- and logistic systems of the future. The purpose has been to create an intelligent, self-inventorying warehouse with minimal maintenance costs and simpler scaling contingency. Therefore each container will be equipped with sensors and communication devices. The challenge of such a system lies in power supply: Saving energy and the design of a robust communication protocol, that minimizes energy intensive error transmission despite a high amount of network participants. This approach, however, holds a wide application potential.
Within the project group such an intelligent warehouse for inventorying LEGO-bricks shall be designed and build – naturally in a manageable magnitude. Individual crates, equipped with a communication device and a scale on the bottom, provide information on the amount of bricks via radio and when power is critically low, make themselves noticeable through light- or sound signals.
Using a web interface or an app a specific kind of brick can be found by the crate, holding a sufficient amount of stones, making itself noticeable regardless of being in the warehouse or on the desk at that time. If the stock of a certain kind reaches low level, it will be ordered or rather added to the wish list for the next festive occasion.