Energy-Saving Distributed Flexible Job Shop Scheduling Optimization with Dual Resource Constraints Based on Integrated Q-Learning Multi-Objective Grey Wolf Optimizer

The distributed flexible job shop scheduling problem(DFJSP)has attracted great attention with the growth of the global manufacturing industry.General DFJSP research only considers machine constraints and ignores worker constraints.As one critical factor of production,effective utilization of worker resources can increase productivity.Meanwhile,energy consumption is a growing concern due to the increasingly serious environmental issues.Therefore,the distributed flexible job shop scheduling problem with dual resource constraints(DFJSP-DRC)for minimizing makespan and total energy consumption is studied in this paper.To solve the problem,we present a multi-objective mathematical model for DFJSP-DRC and propose a Q-learning-based multi-objective grey wolf optimizer(Q-MOGWO).In Q-MOGWO,high-quality initial solutions are generated by a hybrid initialization strategy,and an improved active decoding strategy is designed to obtain the scheduling schemes.To further enhance the local search capability and expand the solution space,two wolf predation strategies and three critical factory neighborhood structures based on Q-learning are proposed.These strategies and structures enable Q-MOGWO to explore the solution space more efficiently and thus find better Pareto solutions.The effectiveness of Q-MOGWO in addressing DFJSP-DRC is verified through comparison with four algorithms using 45 instances.The results reveal that Q-MOGWO outperforms comparison algorithms in terms of solution quality.

A Layered Energy-EfficientMulti-Node Scheduling Mechanism for Large-Scale WSN

In recent years, target tracking has been considered one of the most important applications of wireless sensornetwork (WSN). Optimizing target tracking performance and prolonging network lifetime are two equally criticalobjectives in this scenario. The existing mechanisms still have weaknesses in balancing the two demands. Theproposed heuristic multi-node collaborative scheduling mechanism (HMNCS) comprises cluster head (CH)election, pre-selection, and task set selectionmechanisms, where the latter two kinds of selections forma two-layerselection mechanism. The CH election innovatively introduces the movement trend of the target and establishesa scoring mechanism to determine the optimal CH, which can delay the CH rotation and thus reduce energyconsumption. The pre-selection mechanism adaptively filters out suitable nodes as the candidate task set to applyfor tracking tasks, which can reduce the application consumption and the overhead of the following task setselection. Finally, the task node selection is mathematically transformed into an optimization problem and thegenetic algorithm is adopted to form a final task set in the task set selection mechanism. Simulation results showthat HMNCS outperforms other compared mechanisms in the tracking accuracy and the network lifetime.

A Novel Predictive Model for Edge Computing Resource Scheduling Based on Deep Neural Network

Currently,applications accessing remote computing resources through cloud data centers is the main mode of operation,but this mode of operation greatly increases communication latency and reduces overall quality of service(QoS)and quality of experience(QoE).Edge computing technology extends cloud service functionality to the edge of the mobile network,closer to the task execution end,and can effectivelymitigate the communication latency problem.However,the massive and heterogeneous nature of servers in edge computing systems brings new challenges to task scheduling and resource management,and the booming development of artificial neural networks provides us withmore powerfulmethods to alleviate this limitation.Therefore,in this paper,we proposed a time series forecasting model incorporating Conv1D,LSTM and GRU for edge computing device resource scheduling,trained and tested the forecasting model using a small self-built dataset,and achieved competitive experimental results.

Process metallurgy and data-driven prediction and feedback of blast furnace heat indicators

The prediction and control of furnace heat indicators are of great importance for improving the heat levels and conditions of the complex and difficult-to-operate hour-class delay blast furnace(BF)system.In this work,a prediction and feedback model of furnace heat indicators based on the fusion of data-driven and BF ironmaking processes was proposed.The data on raw and fuel materials,process op-eration,smelting state,and slag and iron discharge during the whole BF process comprised 171 variables with 9223 groups of data and were comprehensively analyzed.A novel method for the delay analysis of furnace heat indicators was established.The extracted delay variables were found to play an important role in modeling.The method that combined the genetic algorithm and stacking efficiently im-proved performance compared with the traditional machine learning algorithm in improving the hit ratio of the furnace heat prediction model.The hit ratio for predicting the temperature of hot metal in the error range of±10℃ was 92.4%,and that for the chemical heat of hot metal in the error range of±0.1wt%was 93.3%.On the basis of the furnace heat prediction model and expert experience,a feedback model of furnace heat operation was established to obtain quantitative operation suggestions for stabilizing BF heat levels.These sugges-tions were highly accepted by BF operators.Finally,the comprehensive and dynamic model proposed in this work was successfully ap-plied in a practical BF system.It improved the BF temperature level remarkably,increasing the furnace temperature stability rate from 54.9%to 84.9%.This improvement achieved considerable economic benefits.

Performance Prediction Based Workload Scheduling in Co-Located Cluster

Cloud service providers generally co-locate online services and batch jobs onto the same computer cluster,where the resources can be pooled in order to maximize data center resource utilization.Due to resource competition between batch jobs and online services,co-location frequently impairs the performance of online services.This study presents a quality of service(QoS)prediction-based schedulingmodel(QPSM)for co-locatedworkloads.The performance prediction of QPSM consists of two parts:the prediction of an online service’s QoS anomaly based on XGBoost and the prediction of the completion time of an offline batch job based on randomforest.On-line service QoS anomaly prediction is used to evaluate the influence of batch jobmix on on-line service performance,and batch job completion time prediction is utilized to reduce the total waiting time of batch jobs.When the same number of batch jobs are scheduled in experiments using typical test sets such as CloudSuite,the scheduling time required by QPSM is reduced by about 6 h on average compared with the first-come,first-served strategy and by about 11 h compared with the random scheduling strategy.Compared with the non-co-located situation,QPSM can improve CPU resource utilization by 12.15% and memory resource utilization by 5.7% on average.Experiments show that the QPSM scheduling strategy proposed in this study can effectively guarantee the quality of online services and further improve cluster resource utilization.

Improved STNModels and Heuristic Rules for Cooperative Scheduling in Automated Container Terminals

Improving the cooperative scheduling efficiency of equipment is the key for automated container terminals to copewith the development trend of large-scale ships. In order to improve the solution efficiency of the existing spacetimenetwork (STN) model for the cooperative scheduling problem of yard cranes (YCs) and automated guidedvehicles (AGVs) and extend its application scenarios, two improved STN models are proposed. The flow balanceconstraints in the original model are decomposed, and the trajectory constraints of YCs and AGVs are added toacquire the model STN_A. The coupling constraint in STN_A is updated, and buffer constraints are added toSTN_A so that themodel STN_B is built.As the size of the problem increases, the solution speed of CPLEX becomesthe bottleneck. So a heuristic method containing three groups of heuristic rules is designed to obtain a near-optimalsolution quickly. Experimental results showthat the computation time of STN_A is shortened by 49.47% on averageand the gap is reduced by 1.69% on average compared with the original model. The gap between the solution ofthe heuristic rules and the solution of CPLEX is less than 3.50%, and the solution time of the heuristic rules is onaverage 99.85% less than the solution time of CPLEX. Compared with STN_A, the computation time for solvingSTN_B increases by 58.93% on average.

Performance enhancement of a viscoelastic bistable energy harvester using time-delayed feedback control

This paper focuses on the stochastic analysis of a viscoelastic bistable energy harvesting system under colored noise and harmonic excitation, and adopts the time-delayed feedback control to improve its harvesting efficiency. Firstly, to obtain the dimensionless governing equation of the system, the original bistable system is approximated as a system without viscoelastic term by using the stochastic averaging method of energy envelope, and then is further decoupled to derive an equivalent system. The credibility of the proposed method is validated by contrasting the consistency between the numerical and the analytical results of the equivalent system under different noise conditions. The influence of system parameters on average output power is analyzed, and the control effect of the time-delayed feedback control on system performance is compared. The output performance of the system is improved with the occurrence of stochastic resonance(SR). Therefore, the signal-to-noise ratio expression for measuring SR is derived, and the dependence of its SR behavior on different parameters is explored.

A feedback control method for phase signal demodulation in fber-optic hydrophones

In the realm of acoustic signal detection,the identification of weak signals,particularly in the presence of negative signal-to-noise ratios,poses a significant challenge.This challenge is further heightened when signals are acquired through fiber-optic hydrophones,as these signals often lack physical significance and resist clear systematic modeling.Conventional processing methods,e.g.,low-pass filter(LPF),require a thorough understanding of the effective signal bandwidth for noise reduction,and may introduce undesirable time lags.This paper introduces an innovative feedback control method with dual Kalman filters for the demodulation of phase signals with noises in fiber-optic hydrophones.A mathematical model of the closed-loop system is established to guide the design of the feedback control,aiming to achieve a balance with the input phase signal.The dual Kalman filters are instrumental in mitigating the effects of signal noise,observation noise,and control execution noise,thereby enabling precise estimation for the input phase signals.The effectiveness of this feedback control method is demonstrated through examples,showcasing the restoration of low-noise signals,negative signal-to-noise ratio signals,and multi-frequency signals.This research contributes to the technical advancement of high-performance devices,including fiber-optic hydrophones and phase-locked amplifiers.

Fault Estimation for a Class of Markov Jump Piecewise-Affine Systems: Current Feedback Based Iterative Learning Approach

In this paper, the issues of stochastic stability analysis and fault estimation are investigated for a class of continuoustime Markov jump piecewise-affine(PWA) systems against actuator and sensor faults. Firstly, a novel mode-dependent PWA iterative learning observer with current feedback is designed to estimate the system states and faults, simultaneously, which contains both the previous iteration information and the current feedback mechanism. The auxiliary feedback channel optimizes the response speed of the observer, therefore the estimation error would converge to zero rapidly. Then, sufficient conditions for stochastic stability with guaranteed performance are demonstrated for the estimation error system, and the equivalence relations between the system information and the estimated information can be established via iterative accumulating representation.Finally, two illustrative examples containing a class of tunnel diode circuit systems are presented to fully demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed iterative learning observer with current feedback.

MCWOA Scheduler:Modified Chimp-Whale Optimization Algorithm for Task Scheduling in Cloud Computing

Cloud computing provides a diverse and adaptable resource pool over the internet,allowing users to tap into various resources as needed.It has been seen as a robust solution to relevant challenges.A significant delay can hamper the performance of IoT-enabled cloud platforms.However,efficient task scheduling can lower the cloud infrastructure’s energy consumption,thus maximizing the service provider’s revenue by decreasing user job processing times.The proposed Modified Chimp-Whale Optimization Algorithm called Modified Chimp-Whale Optimization Algorithm(MCWOA),combines elements of the Chimp Optimization Algorithm(COA)and the Whale Optimization Algorithm(WOA).To enhance MCWOA’s identification precision,the Sobol sequence is used in the population initialization phase,ensuring an even distribution of the population across the solution space.Moreover,the traditional MCWOA’s local search capabilities are augmented by incorporating the whale optimization algorithm’s bubble-net hunting and random search mechanisms into MCWOA’s position-updating process.This study demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed approach using a two-story rigid frame and a simply supported beam model.Simulated outcomes reveal that the new method outperforms the original MCWOA,especially in multi-damage detection scenarios.MCWOA excels in avoiding false positives and enhancing computational speed,making it an optimal choice for structural damage detection.The efficiency of the proposed MCWOA is assessed against metrics such as energy usage,computational expense,task duration,and delay.The simulated data indicates that the new MCWOA outpaces other methods across all metrics.The study also references the Whale Optimization Algorithm(WOA),Chimp Algorithm(CA),Ant Lion Optimizer(ALO),Genetic Algorithm(GA)and Grey Wolf Optimizer(GWO).

A Tutorial on Quantized Feedback Control

In this tutorial paper, we explore the field of quantized feedback control, which has gained significant attention due to the growing prevalence of networked control systems. These systems require the transmission of feedback information, such as measurements and control signals, over digital networks, presenting novel challenges in estimation and control design. Our examination encompasses various topics, including the minimal information needed for effective feedback control, the design of quantizers, strategies for quantized control design and estimation,achieving consensus control with quantized data, and the pursuit of high-precision tracking using quantized measurements.

Towards engineering a portable platform for laparoscopic pre-training in virtual reality with haptic feedback

Background Laparoscopic surgery is a surgical technique in which special instruments are inserted through small incision holes inside the body.For some time,efforts have been made to improve surgical pre training through practical exercises on abstracted and reduced models.Methods The authors strive for a portable,easy to use and cost-effective Virtual Reality-based(VR)laparoscopic pre-training platform and therefore address the question of how such a system has to be designed to achieve the quality of today's gold standard using real tissue specimens.Current VR controllers are limited regarding haptic feedback.Since haptic feedback is necessary or at least beneficial for laparoscopic surgery training,the platform to be developed consists of a newly designed prototype laparoscopic VR controller with haptic feedback,a commercially available head-mounted display,a VR environment for simulating a laparoscopic surgery,and a training concept.Results To take full advantage of benefits such as repeatability and cost-effectiveness of VR-based training,the system shall not require a tissue sample for haptic feedback.It is currently calculated and visually displayed to the user in the VR environment.On the prototype controller,a first axis was provided with perceptible feedback for test purposes.Two of the prototype VR controllers can be combined to simulate a typical both-handed use case,e.g.,laparoscopic suturing.A Unity based VR prototype allows the execution of simple standard pre-trainings.Conclusions The first prototype enables full operation of a virtual laparoscopic instrument in VR.In addition,the simulation can compute simple interaction forces.Major challenges lie in a realistic real-time tissue simulation and calculation of forces for the haptic feedback.Mechanical weaknesses were identified in the first hardware prototype,which will be improved in subsequent versions.All degrees of freedom of the controller are to be provided with haptic feedback.To make forces tangible in the simulation,characteristic values need to be determined using real tissue samples.The system has yet to be validated by cross-comparing real and VR haptics with surgeons.

A NOTE ON THE GENERAL STABILIZATION OF DISCRETE FEEDBACK CONTROL FOR NON-AUTONOMOUS HYBRID NEUTRAL STOCHASTIC SYSTEMS WITH A DELAY

Discrete feedback control was designed to stabilize an unstable hybrid neutral stochastic differential delay system(HNSDDS) under a highly nonlinear constraint in the H_∞ and exponential forms.Nevertheless,the existing work just adapted to autonomous cases,and the obtained results were mainly on exponential stabilization.In comparison with autonomous cases,non-autonomous systems are of great interest and represent an important challenge.Accordingly,discrete feedback control has here been adjusted with a time factor to stabilize an unstable non-autonomous HNSDDS,in which new Lyapunov-Krasovskii functionals and some novel technologies are adopted.It should be noted,in particular,that the stabilization can be achieved not only in the routine H_∞ and exponential forms,but also the polynomial form and even a general form.

A Distributionally Robust Optimization Scheduling Model for Regional Integrated Energy Systems Considering Hot Dry Rock Co-Generation

Hot dry rock(HDR)is rich in reserve,widely distributed,green,low-carbon,and has broad development potential and prospects.In this paper,a distributionally robust optimization(DRO)scheduling model for a regionally integrated energy system(RIES)considering HDR co-generation is proposed.First,the HDR-enhanced geothermal system(HDR-EGS)is introduced into the RIES.HDR-EGS realizes the thermoelectric decoupling of combined heat and power(CHP)through coordinated operation with the regional power grid and the regional heat grid,which enhances the system wind power(WP)feed-in space.Secondly,peak-hour loads are shifted using price demand response guidance in the context of time-of-day pricing.Finally,the optimization objective is established to minimize the total cost in the RIES scheduling cycle and construct a DRO scheduling model for RIES with HDR-EGS.By simulating a real small-scale RIES,the results show that HDR-EGS can effectively promote WP consumption and reduce the operating cost of the system.

Research on Flexible Job Shop Scheduling Based on Improved Two-Layer Optimization Algorithm

To improve the productivity,the resource utilization and reduce the production cost of flexible job shops,this paper designs an improved two-layer optimization algorithm for the dual-resource scheduling optimization problem of flexible job shop considering workpiece batching.Firstly,a mathematical model is established to minimize the maximum completion time.Secondly,an improved two-layer optimization algorithm is designed:the outer layer algorithm uses an improved PSO(Particle Swarm Optimization)to solve the workpiece batching problem,and the inner layer algorithm uses an improved GA(Genetic Algorithm)to solve the dual-resource scheduling problem.Then,a rescheduling method is designed to solve the task disturbance problem,represented by machine failures,occurring in the workshop production process.Finally,the superiority and effectiveness of the improved two-layer optimization algorithm are verified by two typical cases.The case results show that the improved two-layer optimization algorithm increases the average productivity by 7.44% compared to the ordinary two-layer optimization algorithm.By setting the different numbers of AGVs(Automated Guided Vehicles)and analyzing the impact on the production cycle of the whole order,this paper uses two indicators,the maximum completion time decreasing rate and the average AGV load time,to obtain the optimal number of AGVs,which saves the cost of production while ensuring the production efficiency.This research combines the solved problem with the real production process,which improves the productivity and reduces the production cost of the flexible job shop,and provides new ideas for the subsequent research.

Faster split-based feedback network for image super-resolution

Although most of the existing image super-resolution(SR)methods have achieved superior performance,contrastive learning for high-level tasks has not been fully utilized in the existing image SR methods based on deep learning.This work focuses on two well-known strategies developed for lightweight and robust SR,i.e.,contrastive learning and feedback mechanism,and proposes an integrated solution called a split-based feedback network(SPFBN).The proposed SPFBN is based on a feedback mechanism to learn abstract representations and uses contrastive learning to explore high information in the representation space.Specifically,this work first uses hidden states and constraints in recurrent neural network(RNN)to implement a feedback mechanism.Then,use contrastive learning to perform representation learning to obtain high-level information by pushing the final image to the intermediate images and pulling the final SR image to the high-resolution image.Besides,a split-based feedback block(SPFB)is proposed to reduce model redundancy,which tolerates features with similar patterns but requires fewer parameters.Extensive experimental results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method in comparison with the state-of-the-art methods.Moreover,this work extends the experiment to prove the effectiveness of this method and shows better overall reconstruction quality.

Age of Information Based User Scheduling and Data Assignment in Multi-User Mobile Edge Computing Networks:An Online Algorithm

This paper investigates the age of information(AoI)-based multi-user mobile edge computing(MEC)network with partial offloading mode.The weighted sum AoI(WSA)is first analyzed and derived,and then a WSA minimization problem is formulated by jointly optimizing the user scheduling and data assignment.Due to the non-analytic expression of the WSA w.r.t.the optimization variables and the unknowability of future network information,the problem cannot be solved with known solution methods.Therefore,an online Joint Partial Offloading and User Scheduling Optimization(JPOUSO)algorithm is proposed by transforming the original problem into a single-slot data assignment subproblem and a single-slot user scheduling sub-problem and solving the two sub-problems separately.We analyze the computational complexity of the presented JPO-USO algorithm,which is of O(N),with N being the number of users.Simulation results show that the proposed JPO-USO algorithm is able to achieve better AoI performance compared with various baseline methods.It is shown that both the user’s data assignment and the user’s AoI should be jointly taken into account to decrease the system WSA when scheduling users.

Asynchronous Learning-Based Output Feedback Sliding Mode Control for Semi-Markov Jump Systems: A Descriptor Approach

This paper presents an asynchronous output-feed-back control strategy of semi-Markovian systems via sliding mode-based learning technique.Compared with most literature results that require exact prior knowledge of system state and mode information,an asynchronous output-feedback sliding sur-face is adopted in the case of incompletely available state and non-synchronization phenomenon.The holonomic dynamics of the sliding mode are characterized by a descriptor system in which the switching surface is regarded as the fast subsystem and the system dynamics are viewed as the slow subsystem.Based upon the co-occurrence of two subsystems,the sufficient stochastic admissibility criterion of the holonomic dynamics is derived by utilizing the characteristics of cumulative distribution functions.Furthermore,a recursive learning controller is formulated to guarantee the reachability of the sliding manifold and realize the chattering reduction of the asynchronous switching and sliding motion.Finally,the proposed theoretical method is substantia-ted through two numerical simulations with the practical contin-uous stirred tank reactor and F-404 aircraft engine model,respectively.

Strengthened Dominance Relation NSGA-Ⅲ Algorithm Based on Differential Evolution to Solve Job Shop Scheduling Problem

The job shop scheduling problem is a classical combinatorial optimization challenge frequently encountered in manufacturing systems.It involves determining the optimal execution sequences for a set of jobs on various machines to maximize production efficiency and meet multiple objectives.The Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm Ⅲ(NSGA-Ⅲ)is an effective approach for solving the multi-objective job shop scheduling problem.Nevertheless,it has some limitations in solving scheduling problems,including inadequate global search capability,susceptibility to premature convergence,and challenges in balancing convergence and diversity.To enhance its performance,this paper introduces a strengthened dominance relation NSGA-Ⅲ algorithm based on differential evolution(NSGA-Ⅲ-SD).By incorporating constrained differential evolution and simulated binary crossover genetic operators,this algorithm effectively improves NSGA-Ⅲ’s global search capability while mitigating pre-mature convergence issues.Furthermore,it introduces a reinforced dominance relation to address the trade-off between convergence and diversity in NSGA-Ⅲ.Additionally,effective encoding and decoding methods for discrete job shop scheduling are proposed,which can improve the overall performance of the algorithm without complex computation.To validate the algorithm’s effectiveness,NSGA-Ⅲ-SD is extensively compared with other advanced multi-objective optimization algorithms using 20 job shop scheduling test instances.The experimental results demonstrate that NSGA-Ⅲ-SD achieves better solution quality and diversity,proving its effectiveness in solving the multi-objective job shop scheduling problem.

Two-Stage Optimal Scheduling of Community Integrated Energy System

From the perspective of a community energy operator,a two-stage optimal scheduling model of a community integrated energy system is proposed by integrating information on controllable loads.The day-ahead scheduling analyzes whether various controllable loads participate in the optimization and investigates the impact of their responses on the operating economy of the community integrated energy system(IES)before and after;the intra-day scheduling proposes a two-stage rolling optimization model based on the day-ahead scheduling scheme,taking into account the fluctuation of wind turbine output and load within a short period of time and according to the different response rates of heat and cooling power,and solves the adjusted output of each controllable device.The simulation results show that the optimal scheduling of controllable loads effectively reduces the comprehensive operating costs of community IES;the two-stage optimal scheduling model can meet the energy demand of customers while effectively and timely suppressing the random fluctuations on both sides of the source and load during the intra-day stage,realizing the economic and smooth operation of IES.