A Smart Warehouse Without Label Scanning: Automation with AI, Digital Warehouse Maps and UWB Positioning

The entire warehouse is modeled as a digital map. This is the “brain” that decides where goods should be stored. Instead of letting staff pick empty spots out of habit, the system calculates the optimal storage location from data: FIFO rules, the upcoming shipping plan, available bins and the specifics of each order. The suggested location is shown right on the forklift screen.

​ ​The digital warehouse map automatically calculates the optimal storage location

Core value: goods are arranged optimally for fast picking, space is used to the fullest, and nothing depends on any individual's memory anymore. The warehouse runs on rules, not habits.

UWB (Ultra-Wideband) is a positioning technology using ultra-wideband radio waves that works like an “indoor GPS”: highly accurate, stable, good at penetrating obstacles and independent of lighting. The mechanism is simple: each forklift carries a receiver (tag); transmitters (anchors) are mounted on columns and walls, on average one every ~30 m, with the number based on floor area to cover the whole warehouse. The anchors continuously determine the tag's position, so the system knows exactly where each forklift is on the digital map at all times.

The problem UWB solves:
AI cameras only “see” goods and locations at the exact moment they read a code. Between two reads — while the forklift is moving, when a code is obscured, when goods are on high racks or near a far wall — the system loses track of the forklift. That gap is exactly what UWB was made to fill.

Core role:
UWB answers the question cameras cannot answer continuously — “which forklift is where, right now?” It turns the cameras' separate code reads into a seamless, uninterrupted stream of location tracking.

So what does “continuous tracking” deliver?
• Goods are never lost between operations: the system always knows where the forklift (and the pallet on it) is heading, even before the camera reads the location code — no more “blind spots in time” between two scans.
• Covers the cameras' blind spots: on high racks, far walls and poorly lit areas — where long-range images are less reliable — UWB still locates reliably thanks to radio waves.
• Fully automatic recording: whenever the forklift's position changes, the warehouse software updates automatically; the driver does not have to press a button or perform any extra scan.
• Real-time inventory & map data: because locations are updated continuously, inventory and the goods map always reflect reality minute by minute, instead of waiting for end-of-shift consolidation.
• A foundation for optimization & automation: continuous movement history enables analysis of operational flows, travel distances and bottlenecks — and is a stepping stone toward coordinating AGVs/robots later.
In short: AI cameras provide accuracy at the point, while UWB provides continuity across the warehouse. Together they ensure location data is never “broken”, which is what keeps inventory accurate in real time.

What makes the difference is that all three technologies run simultaneously, in a closed loop, within a single operation by the driver:
1. The forklift moves. Its UWB receiver is continuously located by the anchors on the digital warehouse map.
2. The pallet label is read. The QR camera reads the label and identifies the goods: order, lot, quantity.
3. The floor location code is read. The location camera reads the bin/rack code at the moment of put-away or picking.
4. The WMS records. The system checks and records the location + inventory fully automatically.
5. Display & confirmation. The forklift screen shows green if the pallet is put in the right bin and red if not — corrected on the spot.

Result: forklift and goods locations are recorded automatically and continuously, without any label scanning or manual note-taking. Inventory data is always accurate in real time.