| Article ID: | iaor19952106 |
| Country: | Switzerland |
| Volume: | 57 |
| Issue: | 1 |
| Start Page Number: | 29 |
| End Page Number: | 44 |
| Publication Date: | Jun 1995 |
| Journal: | Annals of Operations Research |
| Authors: | Burkard Rainer E., Fruhwirth Bernd, Rote Gnter |
| Keywords: | automated guided vehicles |
This study concerns the design of an operating system for vehicles in an automated warehouse. The layout of the warehouse and the number and properties of the vehicles are given. The objective is to maximize the throughput. Using a partial enumeration technique, the authors simulate several alternatives for the control and interplay of the vehicles within a reasonable time horizon. A subproblem is solved by network flow techniques. The algorithm is implemented as part of an automatic control system, and it has led to a satisfactory performance.