Autonomous Mobile Vehicle Task Assignment for Picker Walking Time
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional systems for autonomous mobile vehicles focus on minimizing travel distance but neglect the walking time of human pickers, leading to inefficiencies in order picking operations.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that classify aisles as active or inactive based on pending tasks and associate autonomous mobile vehicles' positions with these aisles using pre-defined constraints and cost functions to optimize task assignment, reducing picker walking time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If autonomous mobile vehicles are assigned tasks based on minimizing travel distance, then vehicle operational efficiency is improved, but overall order picking efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the optimization parameter from vehicle speed/travel distance to overall order picking efficiency. By using a cost function that weights picker walking time more heavily than vehicle travel time, the system achieves better overall efficiency even if individual vehicle speeds remain comparable
2Productivity
If existing systems collaborate humans and autonomous mobile vehicles, then task completion is achieved, but picker walking time is not minimized
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by proactively assigning tasks to pickers and vehicles in a coordinated manner that anticipates and minimizes picker movement. By pre-planning task assignments based on picker locations and predicting future states, the system reduces unnecessary picker walking time while ensuring task completion
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a method and computing system 106 for operation of autonomous mobile vehicles in an operating environment. The method comprises receiving information related to a plurality of aisles in an operating environment. Further, the method comprises classifying the plurality of aisles as one or more active aisles and one or more inactive aisles. The one or more active aisles are associated with at least one pending task of a plurality of autonomous mobile vehicles 102. Thereafter, the method comprises determining a task from a set of tasks to be performed by at least one autonomous mobile vehicle from the plurality of autonomous mobile vehicles 102 by associating a position of the corresponding autonomous mobile vehicle with one of, the one or more active aisles or the one or more inactive aisles, based on one or more pre-defined constraints and a pre-defined cost function.