Application of Automated Guided Vehicles in Smart Automated Warehouse Systems:A Survey

Automated Guided Vehicles(AGVs)have been introduced into various applications,such as automated warehouse systems,flexible manufacturing systems,and container terminal systems.However,few publications have outlined problems in need of attention in AGV applications comprehensively.In this paper,several key issues and essential models are presented.First,the advantages and disadvantages of centralized and decentralized AGVs systems were compared;second,warehouse layout and operation optimization were introduced,including some omitted areas,such as AGVs fleet size and electrical energy management;third,AGVs scheduling algorithms in chessboardlike environments were analyzed;fourth,the classical route-planning algorithms for single AGV and multiple AGVs were presented,and some Artificial Intelligence(AI)-based decision-making algorithms were reviewed.Furthermore,a novel idea for accelerating route planning by combining Reinforcement Learning(RL)andDijkstra’s algorithm was presented,and a novel idea of the multi-AGV route-planning method of combining dynamic programming and Monte-Carlo tree search was proposed to reduce the energy cost of systems.

A greedy path planning algorithm based on pre-path-planning and real-time-conflict for multiple automated guided vehicles in large-scale outdoor scenarios

With the wide application of automated guided vehicles(AGVs) in large scale outdoor scenarios with complex terrain,the collaborative work of a large number of AGVs becomes the main trend.The effective multi-agent path finding(MAPF) algorithm is urgently needed to ensure the efficiency and realizability of the whole system. The complex terrain of outdoor scenarios is fully considered by using different values of passage cost to quantify different terrain types. The objective of the MAPF problem is to minimize the cost of passage while the Manhattan distance of paths and the time of passage are also evaluated for a comprehensive comparison. The pre-path-planning and real-time-conflict based greedy(PRG) algorithm is proposed as the solution. Simulation is conducted and the proposed PRG algorithm is compared with waiting-stop A^(*) and conflict based search(CBS) algorithms. Results show that the PRG algorithm outperforms the waiting-stop A^(*) algorithm in all three performance indicators,and it is more applicable than the CBS algorithm when a large number of AGVs are working collaboratively with frequent collisions.

Simultaneous scheduling of machines and automated guided vehicles in flexible manufacturing systems using genetic algorithms

The problem of simultaneous scheduling of machines and vehicles in flexible manufacturing system (FMS) was addressed.A spreadsheet based genetic algorithm (GA) approach was presented to solve the problem.A domain independent general purpose GA was used,which was an add-in to the spreadsheet software.An adaptation of the propritary GA software was demonstrated to the problem of minimizing the total completion time or makespan for simultaneous scheduling of machines and vehicles in flexible manufacturing systems.Computational results are presented for a benchmark with 82 test problems,which have been constructed by other researchers.The achieved results are comparable to the previous approaches.The proposed approach can be also applied to other problems or objective functions without changing the GA routine or the spreadsheet model.

Application of Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) Based on Inductive Guidance for Newsprint Rolls Transportation System

The paper presents the development and performance of a kinematics control scheme for the AGV based on inductive guidance in transporting newsprint rolls. The required error is pre-computed using a kinematics model of the AGV taking into account the effect of various factors that contribute to improve tracking performance of the AGV. Simulation and experimental results illustrate that the kinematics model performs well and the results of various factors contribute to tracking performance of the AGV.

Study on scheduling algorithm for multiple handling requests of single automated guided vehicles

To solve the problem of small amount of machining centers in small and medium flexible manufacture systems(FMS), a scheduling mode of single automated guided vehicle(AGV) is adopted to deal with multiple transport requests in this paper. Firstly, a workshop scheduling mechanism of AGV is analyzed and a mathematical model is established using Genetic Algorithm. According to several sets of transport priority of AGV, processes of FMS are encoded, and fitness function, selection, crossover, and variation methods are designed. The transport priority which has the least impact on scheduling results is determined based on the simulation analysis of Genetic Algorithm, and the makespan, the longest waiting time, and optimal route of the car are calculated. According to the actual processing situation of the workshop, feasibility of this method is verified successfully to provide an effective solution to the scheduling problem of single AGV.

AGV Scheduling Optimization of Automated Port Based on Disruption Management

The recent rapid development of China’s foreign trade has led to the significant increase in waterway transportation and automated container ports. Automated terminals can significantly improve the loading and unloading efficiency of container terminals. These terminals can also increase the port’s transportation volume while ensuring the quality of cargo loading and unloading, which has become an inevitable trend in the future development of ports. However, the continuous growth of the port’s transportation volume has increased the horizontal transportation pressure on the automated terminal, and the problems of route conflicts and road locks faced by automated guided vehicles (AGV) have become increasingly prominent. Accordingly, this work takes Xiamen Yuanhai automated container terminal as an example. This work focuses on analyzing the interference problem of path conflict in its horizontal transportation AGV scheduling. Results show that path conflict, the most prominent interference factor, will cause AGV scheduling to be unable to execute the original plan. Consequently, the disruption management was used to establish a disturbance recovery model, and the Dijkstra algorithm for combining with time windows is adopted to plan a conflict-free path. Based on the comparison with the rescheduling method, the research obtains that the deviation of the transportation path and the deviation degree of the transportation path under the disruption management method are much lower than those of the rescheduling method. The transportation path deviation degree of the disruption management method is only 5.56%. Meanwhile, the deviation degree of the transportation path under the rescheduling method is 44.44%.

基于MADDPG的多AGVs路径规划算法

针对多辆自动导引车系统(automated guided vehicle system,AGVs)在动态不确定环境下完成货物运送并进行路径规划的问题,提出一种基于多智能体深度确定性策略梯度(MADDPG)的多AGVs路径规划算法。本方法通过状态空间、动作空间、奖励函数和网络结构重新设计MADDPG算法的模型结构,通过OpenAI Gym接口搭建二维仿真环境用作多AGVs (agents)的训练平台。实验结果表明,相比于深度确定性策略梯度(DDPG)算法和双延迟深度确定性策略梯度(TD3)算法,基于MADDPG的多AGVs路径规划算法在智能仓储仿真环境下,多AGVs碰到货架的次数分别减少了21.49%、11.63%,碰到障碍物的次数分别减少了14.69%、10.12%,全部AGVs到达货物装卸点的成功率分别高出了17.22%、10.53%,表明学习后的AGV具有更高效的在线决策能力和自适应能力,能够找到较优的路径。

Development of IoT Based Mobile Robot for Automated Guided Vehicle Application

Mobile robot has been one of the researches focuses in this era due to the demands in automation.Many industry players have been using mobile robot in their industrial plant for the purpose of reducing manual labour as well as ensuring more efficient and systematic process.The mobile robot for industrial usage is typically called as Automated Guided Vehicle(AGV).The advances in the navigation technology allows the AGV to be used for many tasks such as for carrying load to pre-determined locations sent from mobile app,stock management and pallet handling.More recently,the concept of Industry 4.0 has been widely practiced in the industries,where important process data are exchange over the internet for an improved management.This paper will therefore discuss the development of Internet of Things(IoT)bases mobile robot for AGV application.In this project a mobile robot platform is designed and fabricated.The robot is controlled to navigate from one location to another using line following mechanism.Mobile App is designed to communicate with the robot through the Internet of Things(IoT).RFID tags are used to identify the locations predetermined by user.The results show that the prototype is able to follow line and go to any location that was preregistered from the App through the IoT.The mobile robot is also able to avoid collision and any obstacles that exist on its way to perform any task inside the workplace.

基于深度强化学习的多自动导引车运动规划

为解决移动机器人仓储系统中的多自动导引车(AGV)无冲突运动规划问题,建立了Markov决策过程模型,提出一种新的基于深度Q网络(DQN)的求解方法。将AGV的位置作为输入信息,利用DQN估计该状态下采取每个动作所能获得的最大期望累计奖励,并采用经典的深度Q学习算法进行训练。算例计算结果表明,该方法可以有效克服AGV车队在运动中的碰撞问题,使AGV车队能够在无冲突的情况下完成货架搬运任务。与已有启发式算法相比,该方法求得的AGV运动规划方案所需要的平均最大完工时间更短。

融合NSGA-II和CSA的多目标车间调度

针对在灵活车间系统中调度作业和自动引导车(automated guide vehicle,AGV)的同时调度问题,考虑在有限多个AGV和加工机台的情况下,以最小化最大完工时间、单个AGV搬运消耗时间及所有AGV搬运总消耗时间为目标函数,设计融合NSGA-II(non-dominated sorting genetic algorithms)和克隆选择(clonal selection algorithm,CSA)的改进算法INGCSA来解决此类问题。采用工件、加工机台和AGV三部分编码;引入非支配排序和目标函数值大小排序后总得分进行种群分层,从而有效地保留优秀个体;针对克隆后的种群,对不同等级的种群采取不同的变异概率,并对染色体进行内部交换与均匀交叉混合交换的基因重组,有效地提高了种群的多样性与防止陷入局部最优。通过三组对比实验,验证了该算法在探索最优解时,具有运行时间短、稳定性高和收敛性好等优点。

基于人工势场算法改进的AGV自主避障路径规划算法及其应用

为解决AGV在瓦楞纸包装车间运行中难于从起始到目标位置寻求最优且避障的路径难题,提出了一种基于人工势场算法改进的自主避障路径规划算法。首先,将目的地与AGV的相对距离加入斥力函数中,对引力函数建立梯度,以解决目的地与障碍物较近导致的目标不可达问题;其次,在局部极小值附近增加虚拟障碍物以助力AGV逃离局部极小值区域;最后,借助二阶贝塞尔曲线对搜索到的路径实施平滑处理,确保AGV的路径可行性。仿真实验表明,改进后的人工势场算法应用于包装车间环境下AGV避障路径规划是可行且高效的。

基于D3QN-PER的集装箱码头IGV任务动态分配研究

针对自动化集装箱码头智能导引车(IGV)作业环境动态、作业过程受电池电量约束等问题,研究不确定环境下考虑充电的IGV任务动态分配方法。分析不同载重下IGV充放电过程,提出基于电量区间自主决策的充电策略。为规避动态环境下IGV作业时间不确定对装卸效率的影响,以IGV和集装箱任务信息为状态空间,以集装箱分配规则为备选动作,综合装卸等待成本、IGV搬运成本和充电成本设计即时奖励,基于深度强化学习构建面向IGV任务分配的马尔可夫模型。为克服传统深度Q网络(DQN)过估计、收敛困难和训练不稳定问题,设计集成优先级经验回放(PER)机制和决斗双重深度Q网络(D3QN)结构的D3QN-PER算法。实验结果表明:D3QN-PER算法比单一规则决策和随机决策的IGV搬运任务总完工时间平均分别改进4.60%和12.05%,具有更好的收敛性能和训练稳定性。

基于改进A^(*)算法的AGV全局路径规划

采用八邻域搜索策略的传统A^(*)算法对AGV(自动导引车)进行全局路径规划时,存在搜索邻域过多、实时性差和生成路径拐点多等问题,本研究采用三邻域与八邻域混合搜索策略对传统A^(*)算法的搜索策略进行改进,改进后的A^(*)算法在当前搜索点周围不存在障碍物时,选取指向终点的三个栅格作为搜索邻域,当搜索点周围出现障碍物,则转换为传统的八邻域搜索,并在完成搜索后,对搜索路径进行拉直处理,消除多余拐点,减少路径长度。仿真实验结果表明,改进A^(*)搜索算法能有效缩短搜索时间、减少路径拐点数量并缩短路径长度,提高AGV运行效率。

应用于自动导引小车无线充电系统的导航与供电一体化线圈研究

在自动导引小车(AGV)中采用无线电能传输(WPT)可以提高AGV充电及搬运效率。相比于电动汽车,AGV的导航系统为WPT的应用增加了新的挑战。为降低系统的复杂性和成本,该文提出一种无线充电线圈结构:DAD线圈,该线圈既可以实现无线供电,又可以实现偏移检测。首先,结合DAD线圈的气隙磁场分布,对比方形线圈结构,分析DAD线圈导航和供电的原理;然后,对采用LCC-S型补偿拓扑的DAD线圈进行建模分析,提出具有耦合机构输出电压不受负载影响的谐振元件参数配置条件,进而给出耦合机构的电压增益、输出功率与传输效率表达式;最后,为验证所提出的DAD耦合机构偏移检测性能和系统传输特性,搭建30 mm间距的400 W无线充电样机装置,对DAD线圈的导航性能与供电性能进行了验证,在偏移范围为(-50~+50) mm之间,DAD线圈可以指示偏移方向与偏移大小,且效率波动在5%范围内,可以实现稳定的电能传输。

自动分拣仓库中多载量AGV调度与路径规划算法

在自动分拣仓库中,多载量自动导引小车(AGV)具有强运输能力,但其多载量特征也增加了调度与路径规划的复杂性。针对多载量AGV调度与路径规划的协同优化问题,以最小化最大搬运完成时间为目标,建立了该问题的混合整数线性规划模型,并提出一种聚类协同优化算法。算法首先定义了包裹相似度,设计聚类算法划分包裹组,使每个包裹组可由多载量AGV在一次作业中完成分拣;进而针对问题的多决策特征,设计协同进化遗传算法对包裹组进行指派和排序,并将无冲突路径规划算法引入到协同进化遗传算法的解码方案中,用以搜索最优路径并解决多AGV路径冲突,从而实现了多载量AGV调度与路径规划的协同优化。通过不同问题规模的仿真实验验证了所提算法的高效性和稳定性。

基于改进时间窗的AGVs避碰路径规划

针对柔性制造系统中的自动导引车在动态不稳定环境下不能按照时间窗规划好的既定路径运行的问题,提出通过实时改变自动导引车通过节点的优先级,调整相应节点的自动导引车的通过顺序来更新自动导引车运行路径,对时间窗算法进行改进,从而实现多自动导引车动态环境下的路径规划。以含有8台自动导引车的淋雨线系统为应用案例进行仿真实验,对改进前的时间窗算法和改进后的时间窗算法进行对比,说明了算法的实现过程。通过仿真证明了该算法能减少冲突数目,有效实现多自动导引车避碰,具有更好的鲁棒性和柔性,同时能够提高系统效率。

工业物流系统中AGVS的设计策略

探讨基于激光导航的自动导引车系统AGVS的设计策略,这种AGVS应用于现代工业物流系统中的自动化仓库管理系统。设计以现代物流中自动化仓库管理系统为基础,结合自动导引车系统AGVS的一般组成和功能,并且提出了AGVS的开放性设计思想。激光导航AGVS在物流领域中的应用是当今AGV技术工业应用领域研究的热点,而自动化仓库是物流领域的核心,基于激光导航的AGVS的设计正是为了解决这些问题而提出的。

AGVS在中国的应用与发展

重点介绍了AGVS在中国工业领域的应用及发展趋势,分析比较了中国在应用AGVS方面与欧洲、美国和日本等发达国家之间的差距,为进一步推动AGVS技术在中国的应用和发展奠定了基础。

基于UML和多线程的AGVS仿真工具设计

基于AGVS的有色时延Petri网和有向图模型,使用面向对象的方法,以基于多线程技术计算机动画仿真功能为目标;以统一建模语言(UML)和Rational Rose为工具,Design View和ProcessView为重点进行了AGVS仿真工具的设计。按照该设计实现的仿真工具已经成功的应用于AGVS的仿真研究当中。

基于快速平稳幂次趋近律AGV滑模轨迹跟踪控制研究

针对应用于地下车库的自动导引车(automated guided vehicle,AGV)轮式泊车机器人轨迹跟踪过程中的位置偏差和姿态偏差问题,提出了一种快速平稳幂次趋近律的滑模轨迹跟踪控制方法。首先,在泊车机器人坐标系下建立运动学模型,通过全局坐标系与机器人坐标系之间的转换关系,得到泊车机器人在全局坐标系下的运动学模型;然后采用Lyapunov直接法设计滑模切换函数,采取快速平稳幂次趋近律的方法使泊车AGV从偏差状态快速到达滑模切换面,使AGV泊车机器人快速平稳地跟踪给定参考轨迹。最后,通过MATLAB进行仿真试验,仿真结果验证了所提方法的可行性与有效性。