Article Transport Route Setting for Future Congestion Avoidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing article transport facilities may set routes based on uniform criteria, leading to a situation where a route that reaches the destination in a shorter time is not selected, as the presence of many other vehicles on the set route can affect actual transit times.
Innovation Solution
The controller adjusts link costs using a separation adjustment value that decreases with increasing separation index, considering the influence of other vehicles on the route, to determine a set route that minimizes future congestion and optimizes transit time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the set route is determined based on the shortest route length among candidate routes, then the route planning is simple and efficient, but the actual transit time may be longer due to vehicle congestion on the selected route
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter used for route evaluation from static route length to dynamic link cost that incorporates real-time vehicle congestion information. The link cost is calculated based on the number of other vehicles expected to pass through each link, transforming the route selection criterion from geometric distance to temporal efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring the positions and routes of other article transport vehicles, and using this information to dynamically adjust the link costs for route planning. The controller receives updates on vehicle positions and recalculates optimal routes based on current congestion levels.
2Reliability
If the link cost is calculated considering all other vehicles that will pass through a link, then the route selection accounts for future congestion, but the calculation becomes complex and computationally intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calculations by determining the set routes of other vehicles before calculating the link costs for the current vehicle's route planning. This allows the controller to predict which links will be congested in the future and incorporate this information into the link cost calculation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the route planning problem into discrete links between nodes, allowing independent calculation of link costs for each segment. This segmentation simplifies the overall computation by breaking down the complex route evaluation into manageable link-level assessments.
Data Source
AI summary
A reference cost and a variable cost are included in a link cost for setting a set route for causing a setting vehicle to travel to a destination on a travelable route. A controller obtains an adjusted other vehicle cost by adjusting another vehicle cost with use of a separation adjustment value set smaller the higher a separation index is, obtains a variable cost based on a sum of the adjusted other vehicle costs of all target other vehicles, determines a link cost for each link in a candidate route, which is a candidate for a set route for the setting vehicle, based on the variable cost and the reference cost, obtains a route cost for each candidate route based on the link costs, and sets a set route based on the route costs of the candidate routes.