Hyper-Graph Search for Real-Time Multi-Robot Task Allocation in a Smart Factory

Competitive Advantages

Improves productivity and energy efficiency of the production line
Able to reconfigure the tasks assigned and production according to internal and external factors
Enhanced throughput and energy efficiency in terms of products manufactured over time

Summary

Mass manufacturing administered by industrial robots reduces the cost of the final product while increasing the efficiency of the manufacturing line. The new industry 4.0 standards demand intelligent product manufacturing to achieve flexibility, productivity, sustainability, profitability, competitiveness, social responsibility, resource, and energy efficiency. For achieving the provided goals, this novel system uses multiple heterogeneous robot systems (MRS) controlled and coordinated by the task allocation system running on the edge. This mobile-robot task allocation (MRTA) system considers various factors like customer orders, market trends, etc., for determining the production number and type of products to be manufactured. It also determines the best production method in terms of the efficiency of robots and hence can reconfigure the production flow. The provided real-time task allocation system enables the robot to work flexibly by concluding the factors like utility, distance, etc., into consideration for impacting the productivity.