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Fakultät für Elektrotechnik und Informationstechnik

New project group for SS2016 – Wireless Warehouse – Self-organizing warehouse due to ultra-low-energy communication

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Plastic boxes in a shelf with mini-computers on them © CNI
Intelligent containers filled with LEGO-bricks
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.

Further information on the project group can be found here.