Article Storage Robot Priority Control for Shorter Transport Paths
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Solution Overview
Problem
The transportation efficiency of transportation robots in article storage devices is deteriorated due to the robots' lack of consideration for distance and other factors beyond basic transportation commands.
Innovation Solution
An article storage device with a load port, shelves, and a transportation robot, which includes a receiving part for operation commands, a calculating part to determine a setting value for the order of priority based on basic, time, and distance settings, and a control part to execute the operation command with the highest priority setting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the transportation robot only transfers articles by basic transportation commands without considering distance or other factors, then the operation is simple to control, but the transportation efficiency deteriorates due to increased movement distance
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calculations of distance and time settings before executing transportation commands. The calculating part computes the distance from the current robot position to each article location and determines priority values in advance, allowing the robot to optimize its path without real-time complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring the robot's current position and using this information to dynamically recalculate priority values for operation commands. The calculating part receives current position feedback and adjusts the order of priority based on updated distance measurements, enabling efficient route optimization
2Loss of time
If the transportation robot considers multiple factors such as distance and time to determine operation priority, then transportation efficiency improves, but the calculation and control complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes parameters by introducing priority values that combine multiple factors (basic priority, time setting values, and distance settings) into a single composite metric. This allows complex multi-factor optimization to be reduced to a simple comparison of priority values, minimizing calculation complexity while maximizing transportation efficiency
3Productivity
If the transportation robot performs operations in the order received from the upper system without priority adjustment, then the control logic is simple, but delayed performance occurs and transportation efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary sorting and priority assignment to operation commands before execution. The calculating part pre-calculates priority values for all received commands based on current position and destination, then sorts them in advance, allowing the robot to execute operations in optimal order without complex real-time decision-making
Solution Approach 2:
The transportation robot system performs self-service by autonomously determining the optimal execution order of operations based on calculated priority values. The control part automatically selects and executes commands in the determined priority order without requiring complex external control logic, improving efficiency while maintaining operational simplicity
Data Source
AI summary
An article storage device includes a load port configured to load and unload a plurality of articles, a plurality of shelves configured to load the articles, a transportation robot configured to transport the articles between the load port and the shelves or between the shelves, a receiving part configured to receive operation commands of the transportation robot from an upper system, a calculating part configured to calculate a setting value of an order of priority with respect to the operation commands, and a control part configured to control the transportation robot to perform an operation command having a high setting value of an order of priority among the operation commands.