AGV Conveyance Control Based on Taxi System and Ant Colony Optimization

In FMS, the importance of Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) is increasing because they can respond flexibly to changes in facilities and factory layouts. We propose an autonomous conveyance system for AGVs based on taxi transportation strategies to solve indefinite and accidental problems. The system focuses on applying traffic engineering knowledge regarding a flexible taxi system. A taxi is a transport unit in a traffic system involving high flexibility in traveling routes and at arrival/departure points. In this report, we suggest a decision method using the concept of the ant colony. As a result, we found that we could reduce the possibility of an accident, which is a drawback of the AGV system, by introducing ant colony optimization.