Robotic Sorting Systems: Robot Management and Layout Design Optimization

Fuente: arXiv
Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Hauptverfasser: Zhao, Tong, Lin, Xi, He, Fang, Dai, Hanwen
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2024
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
_version_ 1866914220806766592
author Zhao, Tong
Lin, Xi
He, Fang
Dai, Hanwen
author_facet Zhao, Tong
Lin, Xi
He, Fang
Dai, Hanwen
contents In the contemporary logistics industry, automation plays a pivotal role in enhancing production efficiency and expanding industrial scale. Autonomous mobile robots, in particular, have become integral to the modernization efforts in warehouses. One noteworthy application in robotic warehousing is the robotic sorting system (RSS), distinguished by its characteristics such as cost-effectiveness, simplicity, scalability, and adaptable throughput control. While previous research has focused on analyzing the efficiency of RSS, it often assumed an ideal robot management system ignoring potential queuing delays by assuming constant travel times. This study relaxes this assumption and explores the quantitative relationship between RSS configuration parameters and system throughput. We introduce a novel robot traffic management method, named the rhythmic control for sorting scenario (RC-S), for RSS operations, equipped with an estimation formula establishing the relationship between system performance and configurations. Simulations validate that RC-S reduces average service time by 10.3\% compared to the classical cooperative A* algorithm, while also improving throughput and runtime. Based on the performance analysis of RC-S, we further develop a layout optimization model for RSS, considering RSS configuration, desired throughput, and costs, to minimize expenses and determine the best layout. Numerical studies show that at lower throughput levels, facility costs dominate, while at higher throughput levels, labor costs prevail. Additionally, due to traffic efficiency limitations, RSS is well-suited for small-scale operations like end-of-supply-chain distribution centers.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2404_04832
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Robotic Sorting Systems: Robot Management and Layout Design Optimization
Zhao, Tong
Lin, Xi
He, Fang
Dai, Hanwen
Optimization and Control
In the contemporary logistics industry, automation plays a pivotal role in enhancing production efficiency and expanding industrial scale. Autonomous mobile robots, in particular, have become integral to the modernization efforts in warehouses. One noteworthy application in robotic warehousing is the robotic sorting system (RSS), distinguished by its characteristics such as cost-effectiveness, simplicity, scalability, and adaptable throughput control. While previous research has focused on analyzing the efficiency of RSS, it often assumed an ideal robot management system ignoring potential queuing delays by assuming constant travel times. This study relaxes this assumption and explores the quantitative relationship between RSS configuration parameters and system throughput. We introduce a novel robot traffic management method, named the rhythmic control for sorting scenario (RC-S), for RSS operations, equipped with an estimation formula establishing the relationship between system performance and configurations. Simulations validate that RC-S reduces average service time by 10.3\% compared to the classical cooperative A* algorithm, while also improving throughput and runtime. Based on the performance analysis of RC-S, we further develop a layout optimization model for RSS, considering RSS configuration, desired throughput, and costs, to minimize expenses and determine the best layout. Numerical studies show that at lower throughput levels, facility costs dominate, while at higher throughput levels, labor costs prevail. Additionally, due to traffic efficiency limitations, RSS is well-suited for small-scale operations like end-of-supply-chain distribution centers.
title Robotic Sorting Systems: Robot Management and Layout Design Optimization
topic Optimization and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.04832