A lot of different techniques exist for order picking in warehouses
[6]. Conventionally, the workers handle their orders
with paper lists intuitive for humans but laborious to handle.
Modern systems go without paperwork. They include
mobile data entry devices still requiring a high handling effort,
but which are usually connected online to the warehouse
management system processing the data [10]. Nowadays,
pick-by-voice and pick-by-light systems are common
in company’s logistics. They were developed for hands-free
work and the reduction of mispicks. Pick-by-voice supports
the worker by giving him all instructions through the computer’s
speech output. Unfortunately, these systems face difficulties
in noisy industrial environments and are usually not
accepted by logistics workers. Compared to voice support
systems, pick-by-light offers the worker visual aid by installing
small lamps on each storage compartment. But these
systems are inflexible and expensive. All technologies imply
essential disadvantages, so that logistics providers demand
new ways of supporting the order pickers. AR can
be a solution towards developing a new order picking system.
First experiments were made with video-see-through
head mounted displays (HMD) [2] and using different display
techniques [7]. Unfortunately, the very first experiments
didn’t include the integration into practical logistics
processes.
Another important task in modern logistics applications
is the operative staff’s education. In many cases upfront
teaching is still a common way of educating logistics workers.
It offers the opportunity to teach several trainees at the
same time. However, this kind of education usually indicates
a loss of practice-orientation and cannot focus on the
trainees’ individual needs. A vocational education generally
gives the opportunity to understand the logistics and its context,
as well as the trainee’s future work contents. But the
requirements posed by logistics and its processes to the future
employer are usually too specific. Thus, after recruiting
a new logistics worker companies fall back to using other
educational methods. Besides the regular form of introduction,
most workers receive a ‘training on the job’. Compared
to other types of education, the ‘training on the job’ is
integrated into running processes and thus shows practiceorientation,
while not requiring any special utilities (like
training classrooms, test facilities for trainees). However, regarding
the degree of standardization, this type of worker
training strongly depends on the education’s quality, which
in this case mainly translates to the instructor’s qualification.