Aulis – A Modular and Agent-Based Fleet Management System for Mobile Robots

Modern intralogistics require flexible automation, yet traditional fleet management system ({FMS}) architectures are often monolithic and lack the interoperability needed for heterogeneous robot fleets. To address this, we present Aulis, an open-source, modular, and agent-based {FMS} designed for the vendor-agnostic coordination of mobile robots. Unlike existing closed-source solutions, Aulis decomposes core fleet-management functionalities into lightweight agents and services that communicate via the {VDA} 5050 standard. This architecture follows cyber-physical system principles by decoupling task allocation, routing, and optimization, thereby enhancing system scalability and maintainability. The framework’s extensibility is validated through a matrix-production use case, demonstrating the seamless integration of specialized zone and parking services without altering the core system. Experimental results with heterogeneous fleets confirm the system’s ability to optimize makespan and manage traffic density in dynamic environments. Consequently, Aulis provides a research-oriented platform that bridges the gap between modular flexibility and industrial realism for cyber-physical production systems.