Mixed Robot Fleets

Why each brand brings its own dashboard

Picture a warehouse where one brand moves pallets and another brings totes to pickers. Each arrives with control software built around its own robots and maps, and neither can see the other's traffic, which shows up first at shared doors, lifts, narrow aisles and chargers. The Association for Advancing Automation, writing in September 2026, describes sites forced to run separate fleet-management platforms side by side. It reports that ISO 21423, which sets communication protocols for interoperability between industrial mobile robot systems from different vendors, has reached the final publication stage. Until it is published and adopted, decide early whether one system will coordinate the others or whether each brand keeps a zone of its own.

Interfaces that let brands share a floor

One established bridge between vehicles and a central controller is VDA 5050, a specification for communication between mobile robots and fleet management systems, developed by the German associations VDA and VDMA. Version 3.0.0 was released in March 2026, according to the specification's official repository. When you buy, ask each vendor which version it supports and which optional features it implements, since two products can both claim compatibility yet handle maps, actions or error messages differently. Write the supported version and an upgrade roadmap into the contract. Plan for a master controller that holds shared rules for traffic, charging and priorities, rather than leaving each brand to negotiate space with the others on its own.

One set of measures for every robot

Each vendor reports performance in its own terms, so a mixed fleet needs a common scorecard. Agree definitions for availability, tasks completed, average task time, staff interventions, errors by type, battery state and time spent charging, then map every vendor's data to them. Pull the data into one place, whether a master controller, a data platform or a shared weekly report, and view it by robot, by brand and by area of the site. Compare brands only on similar work, since a robot given the easiest routes will look best. Set alert thresholds that notify a named person, and go through the scorecard with each vendor regularly, so disputes turn on facts rather than impressions.

Who can change maps, zones and software

Mixed fleets are vulnerable to a change made by one party without checking its effect on the others. A new speed zone, a moved rack or an overnight update from one vendor can block another brand's routes. Treat the fleet as a managed set of assets. ISO 55000:2024 sets out principles for managing assets across their whole life, and the same discipline applies here: keep a register of every robot, its software version and its owner, require change requests for maps, zones and firmware, test changes in a quiet period, and record who approved each one. Name one person on site with the final say over shared rules, and make every vendor work through that person.

Sources and further reading

• The Robot Industry Is Finally Getting a Common Language — Association for Advancing Automation (A3).
  A3 on the multi-vendor fleet problem and ISO 21423's progress toward publication in 2026.
• VDA 5050 releases — VDA and VDMA, official VDA 5050 repository.
  Official release history of the VDA 5050 interface between mobile robots and fleet management systems.
• ISO 55000:2024 Asset management: Vocabulary, overview and principles — International Organization for Standardization.
  Principles for managing assets over their whole life, a frame for registers and change control in a fleet.

Common questions

What is robot fleet management software?

It is software that assigns tasks, plans routes, manages charging and reports on a group of robots. Many vendors supply one for their own models, while an interoperable or master system aims to coordinate several brands through shared interfaces and common site rules.

Can robots from different manufacturers work together?

Yes, if they share an interface or a coordinating system that each vendor supports, and if site rules for traffic and charging are set centrally. Expect a period of tuning, because shared interfaces still leave room for products to interpret the same message differently.