Smart Warehouse Achieves Full Wireless Coverage with KAXA

Introduction

AGVs losing connection deep in the aisles, requiring one device per rack level — this is the “standard dilemma” for many automated warehouses. Dense metal racking blocks signals, standard APs lack penetration, roaming is unstable, and any delay in dispatch commands holds up the entire operation chain.

In this case, we helped a large smart warehouse achieve full signal coverage across four levels of racking with minimal equipment — ensuring shuttles stay connected at any position, with O&M costs significantly reduced.

Background

A large smart warehouse features dense multi-tier metal racking and is equipped with numerous mobile devices including PDA scanners and AGVs, which frequently move across multiple aisles during daily operations. High-density metal racking posed a fundamental barrier to wireless transmission — standard commercial APs lacked sufficient penetration, resulting in frequent signal dead zones, AGV/stacker dropouts, delayed dispatch commands, and severely impaired warehouse efficiency. The facility’s operations rely heavily on real-time coordination between AGVs, shuttles, and the warehouse management system (WMS) — any communication delay creates cascading bottlenecks across the entire fulfillment process.

Challenges

The warehouse’s communication pain points included:

1. Severe Signal Obstruction: High-density metal racking severely blocked wireless signals, with standard APs offering weak penetration, creating extensive signal dead zones. AGVs frequently lost connection when traveling deep into aisles or between racking levels, causing them to stop mid-operation and wait for manual recovery.
2. Frequent Roaming Handovers: Mobile equipment including AGVs and stackers moved frequently across zones, with extreme sensitivity to packet loss and latency — even minor network fluctuations could delay dispatch commands. Each roaming event carried the risk of dropped packets, and with hundreds of roaming events occurring daily, the cumulative impact on productivity was substantial.
3. Electromagnetic Interference: High-power equipment including VFDs and motors generated strong EMI, compromising wireless signal stability. The combination of metal obstruction and EMI created a “double barrier” that standard commercial networking equipment simply could not overcome.
4. High Deployment Cost: Traditional solutions required one AP per rack level to achieve adequate coverage — a prohibitively expensive approach for a warehouse with dozens of aisles and multiple levels. The cost of hardware, cabling, installation, and ongoing maintenance made this approach economically unviable.

Solution

KAXA implemented a “full-coverage, zero-dead-zone + zero-roaming-dropout” wireless solution:

• Dedicated Wireless Coverage: KXA3100-52N industrial wireless access point were selected, featuring 4 external high-gain antennas for flexible deployment within aisles. A single AP covers four levels of racking simultaneously — eliminating the need for one AP per level. APs were deployed at both ends of each aisle to ensure shuttle carts and stackers receive stable signals at any height and any position — achieving “vertical no-dead-zone + horizontal full-coverage” across the warehouse. The 4-antenna design allows signal to be directed precisely where it’s needed, penetrating through metal racking with minimal attenuation.
• Seamless Roaming for Mobile Equipment: AGVs, RGVs, shuttles, and stackers were equipped with KXC1100-5N industrial bridges, supporting fast roaming protocols to achieve imperceptible handovers within 50ms — eliminating packet loss and ensuring stable dispatch command transmission. With sub-50ms roaming, AGVs experience zero communication gaps as they move between AP coverage zones, ensuring uninterrupted operation and real-time command execution.
• Industrial Ring Network Backbone: KXS408 industrial switches were deployed to form a redundant ring network architecture, with automatic failover to backup links within 50ms. The equipment features surge protection and wide-temperature tolerance, adapted to warehouse environments. This backbone ensures that even if a single cable or switch fails, the network remains operational — critical for 24/7 warehouse operations.
• Centralized Network Management: All APs and switches are managed through the KX-WLC5508 wireless controller, providing unified configuration, real-time monitoring, and centralized troubleshooting. The warehouse IT team can now proactively identify and resolve network issues before they impact operations.

Results

• Root-cause elimination of signal obstruction, interference, roaming, and dropout issues, with cross-AP roaming handover ≤ 50ms and zero packet loss throughout operations — AGVs and shuttles now run continuously without network-related stops.
• Reduced fault downtime, manual troubleshooting, and repeated debugging, with O&M costs significantly reduced — fewer devices means fewer points of failure and less maintenance effort.
• End-to-end industrial-grade hardware adapted to harsh warehouse EMI environments, ensuring long-term stable system operation with minimal hardware replacement.
• Hardware cost reduced by approximately 60% compared to the traditional “one AP per level” approach, with additional savings on cabling, installation, and ongoing maintenance.
• Warehouse throughput improved as AGVs and shuttles maintain continuous operation without network-induced delays — directly contributing to faster order fulfillment and higher customer satisfaction.

Customer Testimonial

“Our AGVs used to lose connection deep in the aisles, and we needed one device per rack level — costly and inefficient. Now with fewer devices, we have full warehouse signal coverage, and our shuttles run smoothly with zero dispatch command losses. The system has been rock-solid since day one.”