We give an example of a geometry in which the electrostatic force between a point charge and a neutral metallic object is repulsive. The example consists of a point charge centered above a thin metallic hemisphere, positioned concave up. We show that this geometry has a repulsive regime using both a simple analytical argument and an exact calculation for an analogous twodimensional geometry. An...

This paper presents a system architecture which is based on the multi-agent system paradigm for solving complex problems. This architecture is applied to solve the port container terminal management problem, and specifically to solve the automatic container allocation. The multi-agent systems paradigm seems to fit this problem due to its inherent complexity. This work is part of a project for t...

This paper deals a review of the uncertainty modeling in the placement of work space fixtures, say a container in the work space environment of the robot to do a particular task, i.e., to insert or remove some of the manufactured components from the bin or the container. The uncertainty model shown in this paper makes a compromise between the optical distortion using a camera and the robot prec...

Due to the continuously increasing container trade, many terminals are presently operating at or close to capacity. An efficient terminal is one that facilitates the quick transshipment of containers to and from ships. In this sake, this paper addresses the ship assignments problem at a maritime container terminal, where ships are normally assigned to specific quay cranes until the work is fini...

Production of nursery crops in the US is accomplished in containerand field-growing conditions, with propagation and seedling-rearing carried out in greenhouses. Container-grown crops represent 60% of the US market and represent a highly labor-intensive and thus costly segment of ornamental crop production. The USDA, NASA and the ANLA have collaborated to develop an automated in-field container...

Since the introduction of the maritime container in the mid 1950's, liner shipping groups have migrated from inefficient traditional cargo handling techniques to large cellular vessels which can be seen at any of the world's major ports today. The use of the container improved intermodal productivity and allows for shorter point to point transit times. In addition, cargo damage is reduced. On o...

In order to reduce the conflict of yard, vehicles and quay crane in the process of loading container, and upgrade safety of the ship stowage and transport economics, this paper took minimizing reshuffle times in yard and ship, minimizing the ship center of gravity, getting appropriate trim and minimizing the total moving distance of quay crane as optimization objectives to guarantee the balance...

As the flagship of Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH), Hongkong International Terminals (HIT) is the busiest container terminal on the planet. HIT receives over 10,000 trucks and 15 vessels a day, about six million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) a year. HIT makes hundreds of operational decisions a minute. HIT’s terminal management system, the productivity plus program (3P), optimizes resources...

In this paper, we present a mathematical model and formulation to minimize the number of container relocations in storage systems, like container terminals and warehouses. Container relocations are necessary when a container to be retrieved is not at the topmost position in a stack. We consider a dynamic setting, which allows for continual stacking and retrieving of containers, without restrict...