Vehicle Transport Priority Control at Route Converging Points
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Solution Overview
Problem
In manufacturing systems, there is a challenge in determining which vehicle should be prioritized for transport when multiple vehicles converge on different routes, leading to potential collisions or delays, especially during shipment.
Innovation Solution
An automatic driving system that includes a priority acquisition unit and a control instruction unit to determine and enforce transport priorities, using pre-arbitration and post-arbitration controls to ensure higher-priority vehicles pass first, and a server that communicates with vehicles to manage these instructions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple vehicles are transported using different routes simultaneously, then transport efficiency is improved, but conflicts arise at converging points where vehicles cannot determine passage priority
Solution Approach 1:
The system assigns passage priority to each vehicle in advance before the vehicles reach the converging point. This preliminary assignment of priority levels allows vehicles to be guided through the converging point without real-time negotiation or complex on-site arbitration, thereby maintaining high transport efficiency while simplifying control at the convergence point.
2Device complexity
If vehicles are transported without priority assignment, then control system is simpler, but delays and collisions occur at converging points
Solution Approach 1:
Each vehicle is equipped with a priority acquisition unit that automatically obtains its passage priority from the server. The vehicle's driving control unit then uses this priority information to autonomously determine its behavior at converging points. This self-service approach allows the system to maintain simplicity while ensuring reliable conflict resolution, as each vehicle independently acts according to its assigned priority without requiring complex inter-vehicle communication or centralized real-time control.
3Reliability
If priority-based control is implemented for all vehicles, then passage priority is clarified, but control complexity in the server increases
Solution Approach 1:
The server extracts and assigns only the essential priority information to each vehicle, rather than managing all control decisions. The complex task of determining passage priority is separated from the server's continuous control functions and instead assigned as a one-time information provision to each vehicle. This allows the server to maintain relatively simple control logic while still ensuring reliable priority determination at converging points.
Data Source
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AI summary
An automatic driving system is provided that allows a vehicle with a higher shipment priority to be transported preferentially. An automatic driving system for controlling transport of each of a plurality of vehicles in any of steps from production to shipment includes: a priority acquisition unit configured to acquire a shipment priority that is set for each vehicle; and a control instruction unit configured to determine control content for at least some of the plurality of vehicles using the priority acquired by the priority acquisition unit such that a vehicle of the plurality of vehicles that is given a first priority as the priority is transported in preference to another vehicle of the plurality of vehicles that is given a second priority as the priority, the second priority being lower than the first priority, and to instruct the at least some of the plurality of vehicles on the control content. Each vehicle includes a driving control unit configured to execute driving control of the vehicle according to instructions from the control instruction unit.