Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday, Apr. 30, 2025

Location: Room A206, Zhengli Campus

Topic: Human-Robot Collaboration in Order Picking

Speaker: Professor René de Koster, Erasmus University Rotterdam

Host: Professor Xiandong Shang, Fudan SoM

Abstract: The new generation of warehouses is gradually becoming robotized. Managers can select from many different competitive robotic techniques to store and retrieve loads and to fulfil the customer orders. In my talk, I discuss cobot order picking systems, where people work together with robots to pick the orders in warehouses, and focus on two main collaboration policies: fixed versus swarm. I will present four research questions in this area, addressed with different methods, namely: RQ1: Should we zone the system? RQ2: Which method is better (for the pickers): leading or following a robot? RQ3: How to route the picker and stack the pallet? and RQ4: Which operating policy is better: system directed or swarm? In order to answer these questions, (approximate) optimization models (queuing networks, SDP, and integer programming models) and empirical methods are used. I will share some insights obtained.

Bio: Professor René De Koster is a tenured professor at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam. His primary research interests include warehouse management, materials handling, behavioral operations, and sustainable logistics, employing research methods such as experimentation, empirical studies, and mathematical modeling. Professor De Koster has published over 230 papers in top-tier academic journals such as Operations Research (OR), Production and Operations Management (POM), Journal of Operations Management (JOM), Transportation Science (TS), and European Journal of Operational Research (EJOR). He has also authored more than 10 books and is widely recognized as one of the most influential scholars in both academic and corporate circles. He has served as an associate editor for the journals Operations Research (OR) and Transportation Science (TS), and as a member of the editorial advisory board for the Journal of Operations Management (JOM). Additionally, he is an editor for several academic journals, including OR, JOM, TS, IISE Transactions, and International Journal of Operations & Production Management. Moreover, Professor De Koster is one of the founders of the Material Handling Forum. He has also held various positions, such as a member of the R&D board of the European Logistics Association, a member of the scientific advisory board of the German Logistics Association (BVL), and the president of Stichting Logistica.