TESTBED FOR INVESTIGATION OF TANDEM AGV SYSTEMS Leon Bing - Shiun Chuang

A tandem, one vehicle per loop, approach to Automated Guided Vehicle System (AGVS) guide path design has been proposed as a more efficient and flexible alternative to traditional AGV system design. The tandem design can substantially simplify the design task while providing even further flexibility for changes in production system layout and operation. Tandem guide paths, however, have potential disadvantages because vehicle break-down, or even scheduled maintenance of vehicles, results in loop inaccessibility. Previous work comparing the efficacy of traditional guide path configurations and tandem loop configurations provided only limited flexibility for experimentation. A tandem AGV system simulation testbed has been developed to facilitate investigation and analysis of a variety of loop reconfiguration strategies and algorithms. A particular focus of our current investigations is the concept of Real-Time Loop Reconfiguration (RTLR), a means of responding to single vehicle failures in tandem AGV systems. The RTLR can solve the potential loop inaccessibility problem and also enhance the flexibility of the overall AGV system design. Results from initial studies used to verify the correct operation of the testbed are presented, and a brief outline of future applications for the tandem loop reconfiguration model are discussed.