Automated Guided Vehicles Routing

Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) are widely used in container terminals for the movement of material from shipping to the yard area and vice versa. Research in this area is directed toward the development of a path layout design and routing algorithms for container movement. The problem is to design a path layout and a routing algorithm that will route the AGVs along the bi-directional path so that the distance traveled will be minimized. This thesis presents a bi-directional path flow layout and a routing algorithm that guarantee conflict-free, shortest time routes for AGVs. Based on the path layout, a routing algorithm and sufficient, but necessary conditions, mathematical relationships are developed among certain key parameters of vehicle and path. A high degree of concurrency is achieved in the vehicle movement. The routing efficiency is analyzed in terms of the distance traveled and the time required for AGVs to complete all pickup and drop-off jobs. Numerical results are presented to compare performance of the proposed model. The research provides the foundation for a bi-directional path layout design and routing algorithms that will aid the designer to develop complicated path layouts.

Automated guided vehicles , Bi-directional Model , bi-directional path flow layout