Serverless cloud based Automated Guided Vehicle control

Retrieving information from environments that have been disrupted by a natural disaster is crucial and can be done with Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs). The control and decision-making of these vehicles can be moved to a cloud computing system, where large amounts of memory and computing power are available. One of the upcoming cloud...

Flexible time–space network formulation and hybrid metaheuristic for conflict-free and energy-efficient path planning of automated guided vehicles

Operations of Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) are desired to be more energy-efficient while maintaining high transport productivity, motivated by the green production requirements. This paper investigates a new energy-efficient planning problem for determining conflict-free paths of the AGVs in its transport roadmap. In this problem, the...

Model Predictive Path Planning of AGVs: Mixed Logical Dynamical Formulation and Distributed Coordination

Most of the existing path planning methods of automated guided vehicles (AGVs) are static. This paper proposes a new methodology for the path planning of a fleet of AGVs to improve the flexibility, robustness, and scalability of the AGV system. We mathematically describe the transport process as a dynamical system using an ad hoc mixed...

Energy carriers that contribute to a zero-emission container terminal: A simulation-based research on ECT's automated guided vehicle fleet

The brownfield container terminal at the Maasvlakte aims at realizing a zero-emission vehicle fleet to strive for its aim to be zero-emission by 2040. Therefore, the research question is as follows: “What are the consequences for costs and operational performance of implementing mature renewable energy carriers for AGVs at the container...

In the Pocket: Motivation despite Automation

The focus of this project is a two-fold: First and foremost to design a product that stimulates interaction between humans and machines. This interaction should be motivating and encouraging. Therefore, contributing to the values and needs of users. This project demonstrates the value of gamification and intuitive design. These have a positive...

Exploring the viability of AGV implementation in warehouses of express delivery companies: A case study at TNT/FedEx

The demand for express delivery services is growing rapidly and the express delivery market is getting more competitive. To secure their competitiveness, these enterprises are pressured to invest in technologies that could sustain their future growth and keep their operating costs as low as possible. The Automated guided vehicle (AGV) technology...

Route plan scheduling for automated guided vehicles at container terminals

Heavy competition between container terminals and the increasing volume of world-wide container shipment force container terminals to continuously increase productivity and reduce costs. An important condition for optimal operation of container terminals is that Quay Cranes (QCs) maximize their productive time, which requires a minimal lateness...

Controlling high speed automated transport network operations

This thesis presents a framework for the control of automated guided vehicles (AGVs). The framework implements the transport system as a community of cooperating agents. Besides the architecture and elements of the framework a wide range of infrastructure scene templates is described. These scene templates, ranging from terminal infrastructure...