An Overview of Warehousing Applications based on
Cable Robot Technology in Logistics
Cyril Alias
Department of Transport Systems and Logistics
University of Duisburg-Essen
Duisburg, Germany
Cyril.Alias@uni-due.de
Ilia Nikolaev
Department of Transport Systems and Logistics
University of Duisburg-Essen
Duisburg, Germany
Ilia.Nikolaev@stud.uni-due.de
Abstract—Robotics belongs to the megatrends radically
changing the logistics industry which has long time been
reluctant to the adoption of technological innovation. Facing
aggravated competition by ever new and stronger actors in the
industry, labor shortage due to demographic shifts, and constant
cost pressure, logistics robots are considered as an effective
means to tackle those problems. By taking a look at the market of
logistics robots, the market condition for cable-driven parallel
robots for storage purposes can be studied and a successful
introduction into the market of material handling devices
initiated. Hence, this paper examines the prevalence of robotics
solutions in general and cable-robot applications in particular in
the logistics industry.
Keywords—material handling, logistics, robotics, cable-driven
parallel robots, storage, warehousing, picking
I. INTRODUCTION
In the wake of various mega-trends undergoing the
industrial processes in general, such as demographic shift,
digitization, autonomous driving, service economy, and
sustainability, many innovations have recently entered the
logistics industry and led to significant acceleration, cost
reduction, and improved service quality.
These innovations can be considered as a response to the
manifold challenges that the logistics industry has been facing
recently. Most prominently, e-commerce has gained an
important role in the industry. Not only has an annual growth
of the online retail market led to an increment of goods demand
[1], but also to a decrease of the delivery time [2]. Being
service providers with often low appreciation, the relevant
actors could only generate limited profit margins along with
elevated performance requirements and, thus, had to postpone
978-1-5386-4522-2/18/$31.00 2018
c IEEE 232
Eduardo Garduño Correa Magallanes
Department of Transport Systems and Logistics
University of Duisburg-Essen
Duisburg, Germany
Eduardo.Garduno-Correa-Magallanes@stud.uni-due.de
Bernd Noche
Department of Transport Systems and Logistics
University of Duisburg-Essen
Duisburg, Germany
Bernd.Noche@uni-due.de
many useful and necessary investments repeatedly. In addition,
the tough competition in the industry has been exacerbated by
new service providers entering the market and offering new
types of services and, thereby, making the establishment of a
competitive edge vital. Another major issue for logistics
stakeholders in industrialized nations is the aggravating labor
shortage, not least due to an ageing population and lack of
specialized personnel [1].
As one of the reactions to these changing conditions in the
logistics industry, robotics solutions have begun to enter the
stage. A robot is defined as “a machine capable of carrying out
a complex series of actions automatically, especially one
programmable by a computer” [3]. Apart from the humanoid
robots featuring a more or less strong similarity to humans in
appearance and structure, cable-driven parallel robots, which
make use of flexible cables which again are wound up on
winches powered by motor, and is connected to a so-called end
effector, e.g., a pull/push-equipment to grab transport boxes,
are considered as a particular sub-class of robots as well.
Typically, robots are used to imitate functions of the human
body - more precisely, of the eyes, hands, feet, and brain [1].
According to these definitions, a logistics robot is supposed to
take over formerly manual tasks and to assist or even replace
humans in the typical logistics processes.
According to [4], the use of robots results in an increase in
efficiency of four to six times higher comparing to human
operators, a decrease of operating costs around 20 to 40
percent, and an increase of productivity of 20 to 30 percent.
The aforementioned labor shortage fuels the adoption of robots
even more as more and more logistic processes are being
automated through their implementation [5, 6]. Hence, the
status quo of the robots available in the market gains value.
 This research paper examines the prevalence of robotics
solutions in general and cable-robot applications in particular
in the logistics industry. The following chapter examines
several types of robots already in different logistics processes
in the industrial practice and classifies them in different sub-
categories, before focusing on research projects applying cable
robots in warehousing in the following chapter. Subsequently,
the prototypes in the different research initiatives are compared
and their respective maturity level evaluated. Eventually, the
research paper is closed with a conclusion of the findings and
an outlook on the future.
II. STATUS QUO IN INDUSTRY
As a starting point, the overview of private start-up
companies valued at more than one billion US dollars, so-
called unicorns [7], in the supply chain and logistics industry
shows a fair share of robot-based business models, especially
in warehousing [8, 9]. This represents a general trend which
also established vendors of material handling solutions have
recognized and introduced. When taking a closer look at the
various warehousing robot solutions in the industry, they can
be classified into six different main categories: container
loading and unloading robots, palletizing robots, packing
robots, picking robots, haulage robots, and storage robots. An
overview of the categories of warehousing robots with their
respective overlaps is displayed in Figure 1.
The first category to introduce are the container loading
and unloading robots which are employed for loading freight
into a container or unloading it from there. Both types of robots
are composed of an articulated arm which grabs the objects
using vacuum grippers. In case of the container loading robots,
the goods are transported by a conveyor to the robot and then
grabbed and stacked inside an outgoing container [10, 11].
They are able to determine the best way to position the
products despite different shapes and weights by rotating them
to optimally fill the available space without damaging any item
[1]. Regarding the container unloading robots, they realize the
same process but in the contrary direction. They grab the
products inside the containers and place them in the logistics
premises for further conveyance, e.g., onto a conveyor belt [1,
12].
The second category are the palletizing robots. As the name
indicates, palletizing robots are used for the building of
shipping pallets, mostly after the picking process. Such a robot
principally consists of an articulated arm which is applied to
position either bags, boxes, or cartons on a pallet. They grab
the objects from single or multi-line feed conveyors using
grippers and stack them according to a predefined pattern [13,
14]. Typically, palletizing robots can handle the different pallet
formats easily and do not exceed predefined height or weight
limits.
The third category are packing robots. These are employed
inside a warehouse for packing individual end products which
are going to be sent to customers. Using grippers at the end of
an articulated arm, they are able to grab the single articles from
conveyors or plastic totes and bins and to place them inside
outgoing shipping cartons. These robots can operate in work
International Conference on Service Operations and Logistics, and Informatics (SOLI 2018)
Figure 1. Classification of warehousing robots available in the market
(own illustration)
cells designed for humans, as well as collaborate safely next to
people [15, 16].
The next category are the picking robots. Picking robots
retrieve articles from one point in the warehouse and place
them at another. As shown in Figure 1, the picking robots can
be sub-classified into two sub-categories: stationary picking
robots and mobile picking robots. While stationary picking
robots can be considered as intersecting set with packing
robots, mobile picking robots have an overlap with haulage
robots analogously. Apart from the obvious difference in
mobility, another major difference between the two sub-
categories resides in the fact that the distance from where
stationary picking robots retrieve the products from close
proximity whereas the displacement distance of the mobile
picking robots is higher.
Stationary picking robots are stationary arm robots which
use image recognition to identify the items and vacuum
grippers to pick them from plastic totes to conveyors or from
one conveyor to another. They can pick up to 2,400 items per
hour depending on the product’s features and change the type
of vacuum gripper if necessary, to better grab the respective
wpiece [17, 18]. They can also perform packing activities
depositing the articles in shipping cartons.
Mobile picking robots, on the contrary, are basically
automated guided vehicles with additional functionality for
grabbing items. Making use of 2D and 3D cameras, they are
even able to identify the products [19]. Most of them employ
vacuum grippers to grab the pieces. Mobile picking robots can
pick cartons, bins, or individual products and transport them to
other areas inside the warehouse [20, 21]. These robots are
utilized in goods-to-picker systems, in which the articles stored
in racks are retrieved by the robot and transported to the picker
in order to consolidate an order [22]. Some mobile picking
robots can even pick entire order lists autonomously [20],
233
 leaving workers just having to pack the items into a shipping
carton, if at all. Hence, the replacement of humans by robots is
nearly absolute in this area.
The fifth category to present is the haulage robots (or
transport robots) whose main purpose is to displace goods from
one location to another. Oftentimes, these robots are
represented and controlled in the warehouse management
system from which they receive the transport orders to process
and the destinations to go to [23]. Haulage robots can be sub-
classified in pure transport robots and forklift robots. The
difference lies in that the latter can be used for storing activities
as well [24].
Transport robots (or pure haulage robots) are oftentimes
automated guided vehicles or cellular transport systems which
employ sensors to identify their own position and to recognize
obstacles in their path, such as humans, objects, or walls [25,
26] In addition, they consist of one or two platforms in order to
carry boxes, bins or individual items from one point to another.
Some haulage robots have the feature to collaborate with the
pickers by either leading them through the warehouse, or
eliminating some part of their route by avoiding the return to
the picking area [25], where the items are consolidated per
order. Others, on the contrary, can work along mobile picking
robots, given that they avoid bringing the products to the
pickers. [27].
The other sub-category of haulage robots are the forklift
robots. They are automated forklifts based on automated
guided vehicles, which move palletized consignments from one
area to another [26]. As mentioned before, they can also
perform storage activities, where pallets are stored in [24]. A
similarity exists between forklift robots and mobile picking
robots, as both are capable of transporting the items that they
retrieve. This explains why both are assigned to the category of
haulage robots. However, the principal purpose of mobile
picking robots is to pick goods.
The last category is the one of storage robots whose
purpose is to store single products or boxes in a storage system.
On retrieving the objects handed over by the workers or a
conveyor system, the storage robots move them to their
designated destination in the warehouse, and eventually store
them in the dedicated location. Some storage systems are
metallic cubic grids, where the storage robots ride on the grid
above of storage system and store and retrieve the storage bins
vertically [28]. Another type of storage robots makes use of
cellular transport systems carrying small racks unit through the
warehouse. Especially, large players from the e-commerce and
online retail market employ such solutions [29–31]. Other
systems resemble traditional storage and retrieval machines
and comprise two racks separated by an aisle in which the
robots can drive along and store the products at both sides of
the aisle. Such robots can be confined to one level or use an
elevator to reach multiple levels [32].
Traditional systems with two storage racks, a racking aisle
and a storage and retrieval machine may exhibit a considerably
higher total weight than the payload they can carry [33]. In
contrast to those big and heavy structures, a new type of
system based on a cable-driven parallel robot uses wires to
move the push/pull device which will execute the storage and
234 International Conference on Service Operations and Logistics, and Informatics (SOLI 2018)
retrieve process [34]. This cable robot technology has proven
to be suitable not only for automated storage activities but also
for other warehousing applications such as transporting of
goods and palletizing [35]. Despite its broad applicability
inside a warehouse, cable robot technology has not found its
way to the market yet though. However, promising research in
this area is currently being undertaken all around the world.
Therefore, it is important to map the development status of this
type of robots to gain full understanding of the whole
development and advances of this technology.
III. STATUS QUO IN RESEARCH
Investigating about cable-driven parallel robots and their
prevalence in the logistics and supply chain industry has
revealed that this technology is still being researched upon and
has not reached industrial maturity. In the light of lacking
commercially available systems in the market, a comparative
overview of ongoing research initiatives in the field is
presented in this section.
The Technological Readiness Levels (TRL), which were
introduced by the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) of the U.S.A. in the late 1980s, has
been used as a major evaluation criterion in order to identify
the progress level of a technological innovation [36–38].
According to [39], this approach provides an indication of the
level of development that a technology requires for inclusion
into a new or existing system. There are nine technological
readiness levels, with TRL 1 being the lowest and TRL 9 the
highest. The TRL 1 is achieved just after a scientific research
has begun and the principles of the research have been
observed and reported. TRL 2 is received when the
technological concepts and/or applications are formulated to
those initial findings. When reaching TRL 3, there is an
experimental evidence of the concepts researched available.
Active research and designs are undertaken so that an
analytical study exists to see whether the technology is viable.
Once the technology is validated throughout laboratory tests, it
receives TRL 4. For TRL 5, the technology is further tested
and validated in scenarios closed to reality environments.
When the technological project is demonstrated in an
industrially relevant environment, TRL 6 is achieved. A TRL 7
technology requires the prototype to be proved in a realistic
operational environment and setting. TRL 8 is granted when
the technology is ready for implementation into an already
existing technology landscape. Once the technology works in
an operational system, the technology finally reaches the
ultimate TRL 9. According to [38], at least TRL 6 is
recommended to start the acquisition of an innovative
technology; and for a system development, TRL 7 should be
achieved. In the subsequent paragraph the nine TRL are
explained briefly.
Now that the measure TRL are defined, the different
research projects about cable-driven parallel robots for
warehousing applications are subsequently presented and
described, indicating their respective project profiles,
application area, and technology readiness level [37, 39].
While the early steps date back to 2006 when the first logistics-
related research of cable robots had commenced, nine more
projects have been worked upon, partly with public financial
support and partly through own funding. Principally, all nine TABLE 1: OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH PROJECTS ABOUT CABLE-DRIVEN
projects can be assigned to either haulage robots, which apply a LOGISTICS ROBOTS (own illustration)

pick-and-place logic to displace an object, or storage robots, Application area Prototype TRL Consortium
which move the push/pull device with the help of cables,
winches, and motors. An overview of the ongoing research in of up to 4 kgs IPAnema 1 4 Germany

Pick-and-place transport of payloads

this field is shown in Table 1.
(n/a) IPAnema 2 3

A. Cable-driven pick-and-place transport systems of up to 250 kgs IPAnema 3 4

In 2006, a German research group at the Fraunhofer
Institute of Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA) (n/a) [CNU 2 South Korea
had begun with the development of cable-driven parallel robot Cable Robot System]
named IPAnema whose purpose was the haulage of products of up to 500 kgs CoGiRo 4 Spain / France
by picking up an object at one place and flying it through the
air to place it at the desired destination. The first robot, (n/a) CableBOT 4 Spain /
France /
"IPAnema 1", was developed for a payload up to 4 kgs [40, Germany
41]. After some intermediate developments, a new project was [Waterloo 3 Canada
started in 2009 to develop a cable-driven parallel robot, the Cable Robot System]

Storage and retrieval machine

"IPAnema 3", which was designed for a payload up to 250 kgs
[42–44]. IPAnema appears to be tested in different functions of
their prototype in their laboratories which leads to TRL 4 as
maturity level evaluation result.
Another research project of a cable-driven robot system for
transportation of payloads is the one being developed by the
Chonnam National University of South Korea [45, 46]. In that
project, the researchers have tested different functionalities of
their cable-driven robot system, mainly individually. However,
there is obviously no prototype available at the Chonnam
National University. Hence, the progress of the project is
assessed to be on TRL 2.
Another cable-based haulage robot has been developed in
the research project CoGiRo by a consortium of Spanish and
French research institutes and academic partner laboratories,
led by TECNALIA France. CoGiRo was designed to handle
heavy payloads up to 500 kgs and to transport them in a pick-
and-place manner across a warehouse or factory [47–51]. This
results in a cable-driven robot with a very large workspace.
Alternatively, the principle could also perform palletizing
activities with far smaller loads. Since a prototype has been
created successfully and various testing and validation by
moving different ranges of payloads in their laboratory has
taken place, the stage of development is on TRL 4.
CableBOT was a European project of another cable robot
for haulage purposes. The consortium consisted of seven
participants from France, Germany, and Spain and was led by
TECNALIA [52]. CableBOT was designed for transportation
of heavy payloads as part of maintenance activities of airplanes
[53–56]. Formerly, moving and transporting such large
structures represented a challenge due to effort and cost
involved. As the functionalities of the prototype have been
proven to operate successfully inside a laboratory. the project
was finished on TRL 4.
B. Cable-driven storage and retrieval systems
Out of the series of cable-driven parallel robots for storage
activities, the researchers of the University of Waterloo of
Canada appear to be the first ones as their research has
commenced in 2009 [57]. The storage and retrieval machine
consists of a mobile platform moved by four cables and used as
[TIP 3 Mexico
Cable Robot System]
FASTKIT 5/6 France
SGP 4 Germany
LEAN 5/6
[KSU 2 Saudi Arabia
Cable Robot System]
a push/pull device to store and retrieve articles from a storage
rack [58–62]. The project is considered to have reached TRL 3
due to a prototype of storage and retrieval machine inside a
laboratory environment, where its main functions are being
proved.
Another small research group from the Instituto
Tecnológico de Puebla of Mexico has researched on cable-
based storage and retrieval machines [63–65]. However, there
is no official project on this in the university. Instead, the
research is continued by one former researcher from the
University of Waterloo who then has joined the Mexican
research team and continued his research from there. The work
progress equals to TRL 3. In addition, the researchers also
develop a pick-and-place system for the transport of payloads.
Another research project around a storage robot based on a
cable-driven parallel robot is FASTKIT [66]. The European
project comprises two French partners: IRT Jules Verne and
CNRS. The researchers work on a mobile storage and retrieval
system using a push/pull device moved by cables while the
winches on both sides are mounted on mobile robots, such as
cellular transport systems. With the successful validation of the
prototype operating in a realistic environment, the project has
achieved TRL 5 and aims to have developed further to TRL 6
by the end of the research activities [67].
Last but not least, another cable-driven storage robot has
been researched upon by a German consortium of academic
and industrial partners from 2010 onwards. The goal of the
research project ‘Development of a Rack Feeder System Based
on the Stewart-Gough Platform’ (SGP) under the consortium
leadership of the University of Duisburg-Essen and
mercatronics GmbH - a German SME focusing on various

International Conference on Service Operations and Logistics, and Informatics (SOLI 2018) 235
 automation and robotics solutions, was the proof-of-concept of
a cable-robot-based storage and retrieval machine [33, 61, 68].
The push/pull device is moved with cables to the right position
of the storage rack to store and retrieve articles. As a prototype
has been developed, tested and validated in the laboratory, the
project has ended on TRL 4. As a direct follow-up project,
mercatronics GmbH and the University of Duisburg-Essen
have begun the research project LEAN since 2016. In LEAN, a
slightly modified consortium aims at advancement of the
cable-based storage and retrieval machine for operational use
at a distribution center of an international logistics service
providers [69]. As the construction works have already begun
at the time of the preparation of this research article and Figure 3. FASTKIT prototype of a mobile cable-driven storage and
extensive testing and validation works lay ahead, the LEAN retrieval system [72]
robot is expected to be demonstrated in a relevant environment
architectures.
and, thereby, achieve TRL 6 by the end of the project in 2019.
In order to detect promising prototypes, various research
The King Saud University of Saudi Arabia has also
projects of cable-driven parallel robots in logistics have been
investigated about cable-robot-driven storage and retrieval
scrutinized. As mentioned in the previous chapter, three
machines with a small research group around a former
promising prototypes have been identified, which are the
researcher from the University of Duisburg-Essen who then
LEAN storage robot, the FASTKIT mobile storage robot, and
has joined the Saudi research team and continued his research
the prototype of the University of Waterloo.
from there [70, 71]. However, there is no official project on
this topic. The work progress equals to TRL 2. The prototype of the University of Waterloo, illustrated in
Figure 2, has been built in a laboratory environment. It
After having presented all research projects around cable-
measures 3 m × 1.5 m × 0.5 m [58]. As indicated above, the
driven parallel robots in logistics and supply chain, a strategic
main functions have been tested and proved so that TRL 3 has
stocktaking is carried out and a comparison of the three
been achieved.
prototypes of cable-driven storage and retrieval machines is
drawn. There is no information publicly available about the
measurements of the FASTKIT mobile storage robot, shown in
IV. CABLE-DRIVEN PARALLEL ROBOTS IN LOGISTICS Figure 3 [67]. However, based on the typical requirements of
the targeted application environments, the width can be
A cable-robot-based storage and retrieval machine features estimated between one and three meters, height between two
lower weights of the facility due to the lightweight components and three meters, and the depth between a half and one meter.
and, thus, a far more advantageous ratio of payload to moving FASTKIT has been built in a laboratory environment in which
load. This is even more true for automated small-parts integration of all technical elements, testing, and validation has
warehouses for stock-keeping units up to 50 kgs which again is taken place which results in TRL 5. On transferring that to the
a typical application area of this type of robot. Along with the respective application environments and demonstrating its
lighter weight come a significantly lower energy consumption functionalities on-site, the FASTKIT mobile storage robot will
and higher speeds of the cycle times in single and dual ultimately achieve TRL 6.
command cycles. Another meaningful and market-relevant
characteristic of this type of storage robots is its modular and The LEAN storage robot measures 10 m × 9 m × 1.5 m and
flexible design allowing new and more adaptive rack is being built in the distribution center of a logistics service
provider. Eventually, it is supposed to be integrated into the
productive processes of the enterprise. Thereby, the robot

Figure 2. Prototype of a cable-driven storage and retrieval system of the Figure 4. Prototype of a SGP cable-driven storage and retrieval system [61]
University of Waterloo [62]

236 International Conference on Service Operations and Logistics, and Informatics (SOLI 2018)
 carry out a market potential analysis, and take on the business
modelling process as following steps.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The research leading to these results has received funding
from the EFRE.NRW (2014-2020) Joint Research Funding
Programme of the European Union (EFRE) and the Ministry of
Economy, Energy, Industry, and Handicrafts of the German
Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) under grant
agreement EFRE-0800365 (ML-1-1-019B, LEAN).

Figure 5. Prototype of the LEAN cable-driven storage and retrieval system [1]
(source: mercatronics GmbH)
would achieve TRL 6 by 2019. Illustrations of the LEAN
storage robot and its predecessor are shown in Figure 4 and
[2]
Figure 5.
When comparing the three prototypes of cable-robot-based
storage and retrieval machines, the LEAN storage robot can be
[3]
considered as the most advanced research initiative as the
consortium is currently building and testing an industrial
prototype in the premises of a logistics service provider in a [4]
realistic setting and integrated into the company’s process and
systems landscape. Thereby, the German consortium is ahead
of their fellow researchers in France and Canada.
As a consequence, the conversion of the industrial [5]
prototype into a demonstrator and the preparation of the
introduction of the solution to the market appear most [6]
promising for the LEAN storage robot.
V. CONCLUSION AND OUTLOOK [7]
The examination of logistics robots in the industry has
revealed the existence of six categories and a multitude of
[8]
individual robot solutions in the logistics and supply chain
industry. However, none of them was based on cable-driven
parallel robots. This indicated a lack of maturity for industrial
use. On the one hand, the market entry of such a solution may [9]
represent a breakthrough in the research area. On the other, the
requirements of the innovative cable-based system in terms of
performance and cost may be considerably higher than for
comparable conventional alternatives since the logistics [10]
industry is traditionally known for being reluctant to undertake
large investments with long amortization periods.
[11]
The examination of ongoing research initiatives around
cable-driven parallel robots in logistics processes has revealed
nine projects around the world of which three are focused on
developing a storage robot. A comparison of those three robots
showed the LEAN storage robot as the most advanced one. [12]
As an outlook, all research groups need to obtain TRL 6 or
TRL 7 as soon as possible. For that purpose, a fitting and, thus, [13]
modified form of testing and performance evaluation are
required.
Considering the enormous potential of cable-robot-driven [14]
storage and retrieval machines with their considerable
advantages over conventional systems, the researchers need to
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