Inspired by the new achievements in mobile robotics having as a result mobile robots able to execute different production tasks, we consider a factory producing a set of distinct products via or with the additional help of mobile robots. This particularly flexible layout requires the definition and the solution of a complex planning and scheduling problem. In order to minimize production costs, dynamic determination of the number of robots for each production task and the individual robot allocation are needed. We propose a solution in terms of a two-level decentralized Multi-Agent System (MAS) framework: at the first, production planning level, agents are tasks which compete for robots (resources at this level); at the second, scheduling level, agents are robots which reallocate themselves among different tasks to satisfy the requests coming from the first level. An iterative auction based negotiation protocol is used at the first level while the second level solves a Multi-Robot Task Allocation (MRTA) problem through a distributed version of the Hungarian Method. A comparison of the results with a centralized approach is presented.

Giordani, S., Lujak, M., Martinelli, F. (2013). A distributed multi-agent production planning and scheduling framework for mobile robots. COMPUTERS & INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING, 64(1), 19-30 [10.1016/j.cie.2012.09.004].

A distributed multi-agent production planning and scheduling framework for mobile robots

GIORDANI, STEFANO;MARTINELLI, FRANCESCO
2013-01-01

Abstract

Inspired by the new achievements in mobile robotics having as a result mobile robots able to execute different production tasks, we consider a factory producing a set of distinct products via or with the additional help of mobile robots. This particularly flexible layout requires the definition and the solution of a complex planning and scheduling problem. In order to minimize production costs, dynamic determination of the number of robots for each production task and the individual robot allocation are needed. We propose a solution in terms of a two-level decentralized Multi-Agent System (MAS) framework: at the first, production planning level, agents are tasks which compete for robots (resources at this level); at the second, scheduling level, agents are robots which reallocate themselves among different tasks to satisfy the requests coming from the first level. An iterative auction based negotiation protocol is used at the first level while the second level solves a Multi-Robot Task Allocation (MRTA) problem through a distributed version of the Hungarian Method. A comparison of the results with a centralized approach is presented.
gen-2013
Pubblicato
Rilevanza internazionale
Articolo
Esperti anonimi
Settore ING-INF/04 - AUTOMATICA
Settore MAT/09 - RICERCA OPERATIVA
English
Con Impact Factor ISI
Production planning and scheduling; Dynamic lot sizing; Multi-robot task allocation; Multi-agent system; Optimization algorithm.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2012.09.004
Giordani, S., Lujak, M., Martinelli, F. (2013). A distributed multi-agent production planning and scheduling framework for mobile robots. COMPUTERS & INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING, 64(1), 19-30 [10.1016/j.cie.2012.09.004].
Giordani, S; Lujak, M; Martinelli, F
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2108/81590
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