Design and Control of Automated Guided Vehicle Systems: A Case Study

In this paper, we study the design and control of automated guided vehicle (AGV) systems, with the focus on the quayside container transport in an automated container terminal. We first set up an event-driven model for an AGV system in the zone control framework. Then a number of layouts of the road network (guide-path) are carefully designed for the workspace of the AGVs in a container terminal. Based on our zone control model, a traffic control strategy is proposed, which decouples the motion conflict resolution among the AGVs from the routing problem. A routing algorithm is also constructed with the goal of minimizing the vehicle travel distances and the transportation time. The efficiency of the integrated design and control is demonstrated by computer simulations in terms of a set of defined measures of system performance. Lastly, we point out several possibilities towards improving our current results.