Multi-Robot Conveyance Scheduling for Timed Facility Reception
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for managing autonomous vehicles in hospitals face inefficiencies in conveying tasks, particularly in coordinating the schedules of multiple robots to efficiently deliver medical supplies, drugs, and passengers.
Innovation Solution
A management system that includes a server for scheduling and coordinating the tasks of multiple autonomous mobile robots, acquiring arrival schedule information, specifying appropriate robots for conveyance, and adjusting schedules to ensure efficient delivery based on arrival times and locations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple autonomous mobile robots are used for conveying tasks, then the productivity of conveyance operations is improved, but the device complexity and difficulty of schedule coordination increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the conveying task into distinct phases: outbound conveyance from the facility and inbound reception at the arrival location. By separating these tasks and assigning them to different robots (outbound robot and inbound robot), the system manages complexity through functional division while maintaining high productivity through parallel operations
Solution Approach 2:
The management server acts as an intermediary that coordinates between multiple autonomous robots. It acquires arrival schedule information, specifies appropriate robots for each task, and updates schedules to ensure seamless handover between outbound and inbound robots, thereby managing coordination complexity centrally
2Reliability
If the schedule of autonomous mobile robots is updated to ensure timely reception, then the reliability of conveyance operations is improved, but the loss of time for schedule adjustment increases
Solution Approach 1:
The management server acquires arrival schedule information in advance and performs preliminary schedule updates before the actual conveyance operations begin. By pre-coordinating the schedules of outbound and inbound robots based on anticipated arrival times, the system ensures reliable timely reception without causing time loss during actual operations
Data Source
AI summary
The management system according to the present embodiment is a management system including a server that manages a schedule including a conveying task using a plurality of robots in a facility, wherein the server acquires arrival schedule information indicating an arrival schedule time and an arrival schedule location of a conveying target to the facility, the server specifies a type of robot that can transfer an arrival scheduled transfer target based on the arrival schedule information, and the server updates a schedule of another robot so that the specified robot can perform reception at the arrival schedule location in accordance with the arrival schedule time of the conveying target.