Why interoperability is critical to the warehouse of the future

The growing e-commerce demands and increasing labor shortage have driven a diverse portfolio of autonomous material handling solutions to the market. While mobile robots from different vendors are often needed to accomplish a complete workflow, it still remains an open problem to orchestrate such heterogeneous fleets in the same space effectively. MassRobotics, an independent, non-profit innovation center stepped in to publish the first Interoperability Standard for Industrial Mobile Robots to tackle this challenge. In this paper, we aim to provide an overview of the current state of interoperability for industrial mobile robots, compare a few other relevant efforts, and introduce the standard in more details. Finally, we will discuss the future steps needed to realize the vision for a truly inoperable warehouse of the future.