Having both automated vehicles and human-operated forklifts within the same facility can cause problems if they're not properly managed, says Nicola Tomatis, chief executive officer of Bluebotics.

Many warehouses and distribution centers are eager to automate their operations, but it’s rarely possible to turn the entire facility over to robotics. That reality creates the need to run DCs with both human- and machine-operated vehicles.

The dual approach, however, can lead to problems. A human-operated forklift, for example, might be traveling down a dead-end aisle of racks, when an automated guided vehicle (AGV) suddenly shows up and blocks its passage. Such a situation can lead to huge operating costs, and reduce the return on investment to be derived from an automation initiative, Tomatis says.

Safety can be greatly compromised as well. A human driver picking up a pallet might back up, not see the AGV behind them and crash into it.

Automated vehicles are routinely equipped with collision-avoidance systems; forklifts run by people typically aren’t. There’s a need to know where humans are, and where they’re going. Some facilities began to solve the dilemma by utilizing wideband communications. More recently, they’ve been equipping the forklifts with laser scanners so that they have the same safety systems as the robotic versions.

However a facility chooses to equip both types of vehicles with scanners or sensors, the information must be centralized and easily obtainable, Tomatis says. And Distribution facilities are increasingly showing interest in this type of technology, with the understanding that few warehouses can ever be completely automated.

For all the benefits that robotic vehicles offer, “the human remains the most flexible solution in the world,” Tomatis says. “There will be processes that you’re not able to automate.”