Comparative analysis of artificial intelligence-controlled drones and ground-based autonomous mobile robots in warehouse logistics

Abstract

In this paper, a comparative analysis of artificial intelligence-controlled drones and ground-based autonomous mobile robots in warehouse logistics is presented. The influence of aisle width, number of vertical levels, and air traffic constraints on storage density and throughput is analyzed. A unified metric combining warehouse capacity and cargo handling speed is proposed. It is established that drones enable narrower aisles and more efficient use of vertical space, increasing storage density by 20–80% compared to autonomous mobile robots. The capability of drones to operate at multiple levels simultaneously is demonstrated to provide an almost linear increase in throughput until system limitations are reached. The feasibility of implementing drones in high-density, multi-tier storage systems is substantiated.