If the future of warehouse work belongs to humans and robots working side by side, a key question remains: What is the most effective way for them to collaborate?

Research published in Transportation Science suggests that the answer may be more flexible than many warehouse operators expect. The study, “Picking the Best Bot: Collaboration Strategies for Humans and Bots in Order Pick Systems with Traveling Salesman Problem Routing,” found that under many real-world conditions, warehouse workers achieve higher productivity when they dynamically switch among multiple autonomous mobile robots rather than work exclusively with a single robot.

The findings challenge a common assumption that fixed human–robot pairings are the most efficient approach.