Vehicle scheduling in 2D shop floor environments

Authors: Xidias, Elias K.; Nearchou, Andreas C.; Aspragathos, Nikos A.

Source: Industrial Robot: An International Journal, Volume 36, Number 2, 2009 , pp. 176-183(8)

Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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Abstract:

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to develop an efficient method for solving a vehicle scheduling problem (VSP) in 2D industrial environments. An autonomous vehicle is requested to serve a set of work centers in the shop floor providing transport and delivery tasks while avoiding collisions with obstacles during its travel. The objective is to find a minimum in length, collision-free vehicle routing schedule that serves timely as many as possible work centers in the shop floor. Design/methodology/approach - First, the vehicle's environment is mapped into a 2D B-Spline surface embedded in 3D Euclidean space using a robust geometric model. Then, a modified genetic algorithm is applied on the generated surface to search for an optimum legal route schedule that satisfies the requirements of the vehicle's mission. Findings - Simulation experiments show that the method is robust enough and can determine in a reasonable computation time a solution to VSP under consideration. Originality/value - There is a gap in the literature for methods that face VSP in shop-floor environments. This paper contributes to filling this gap by implementing a practical method that can be easily programmed and included in a modern service delivery system.

Keywords: Algorithmic languages; Programming and algorithm theory; Remote control systems; Remote handling devices; Shopfloor

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/01439910910932630

Publication date: 2009-03-06