Route planning for automated guided vehicles in a manufacturing facility

Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) are widely used in manufacturing and transporting facilities for the movement of material from one location to another. Research in this area is directed toward the development of a path layout design and routing algorithms for movements of materials. 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 travelled will be minimized. This paper 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 vehicle movement. Routing efficiency is analysed in terms of the distance travelled and the time required for AGVs to complete all pickup and drop-off jobs. Numerical results are presented to compare the 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.