Routing of ALVs under Uncertainty in Automated Container Terminals

Kim, Jeongmin; Lee, Donggyun; Ryu, Kwang Ryel

Journal of Navigation and Port Research 2014;38(5):493-501.
Published online October 31, 2014.

컨테이너 터미널의 불확실한 환경 하에서의 ALV 주행 계획 수립방안

김정민, 이동균, 류광렬

Routing of ALVs under Uncertainty in Automated Container Terminals

Jeongmin Kim, Donggyun Lee, Kwang Ryel Ryu

Abstract

An automated lifting vehicle(ALV) used in an automated container terminal is a type of unmanned vehicle that can self-lift a container as well as self-transport it to a destination To operate a fleet of ALVs efficiently, one needs to be able to determine a minimum-time route to a given destination whenever an ALV is to start its transport job. To find a route free from any collision or deadlock, the occupation time of the ALV on each segment of the route should be carefully scheduled to avoid any such hazard However, it is not easy because not only the travel times of ALVs are uncertain due to traffic condition but also the operation times of cranes en route are not predicted precisely. In this paper, we propose a routing method based on an ant colony optimization algorithm that takes into account these uncertainties. The result of simulation experiment shows that the proposed method can effectively find good routes under uncertainty.

Key Words: Automated lifting vehicle;Routing;Uncertainty;Ant colony optimization;Simulation