A Study on the Development of Semi Automated Warehouse Stock Counting System

This paper presents a concept for the semi-automatic Warehouse INventory management Device (WIND) that can be installed on reach truck (RT) vehicles. Inventory counting is a compulsory operational process in supply chain management. Current counting methods often threats employee's health and safety and are not cost efficient. The WIND is designed to take automatic image recording to perform manual counting process. The WIND system consists of a high resolution industrial camera for visual inventory counting. A wheeled encoder and a laser distance measurement sensor are ready on the system in order to maintain semi-automatic functions. A sensor fusion algorithm run in the background and provides localization among the warehouse racks. While a RT is on the move, its current location can be matched data sensors' data using the DHL Supply Chain® warehouse management system. The camera unit has an automatic triggering mechanism which switches on only when the RT is in the correct location. The captured photos are saved to an industrial computer on the WIND instantly and uploaded to the main database upon completing whole tasks. In the final stage, users can count inventories manually on a computer screen and then, save in to the database. By the proposed system, organizations can correct records, identify flaws in the inventory process and avoid discrepancies.