Mathematical Model and Algorithm for the Task Allocation Problem of Robots in the Smart Warehouse

Abstract

In the smart warehousing system adopting cargo-to-person mode, all the items are stored in the movable shelves. There are some warehouse robots transporting the shelves to the working platforms for completing order picking or items replenishment tasks. When the number of robots is insufficient, the task allocation problem of robots is an important issue in designing the warehousing system. In this paper, the task allocation problem of insufficient warehouse robots (TAPIR) is investigated. Firstly, the TAPIR problem is decomposed into three sub-problems: task grouping problem, task scheduling problem and task balanced allocation problem. Then three sub-problems are respectively formulated into integer programming models, and the corresponding heuristic algorithms for solving three sub-problems are designed. Finally, the simulation and analysis are done on the real data of online bookstore. Simulation results show that the mathematical models and algorithms of this paper can provide a theoretical basis for solving the TAPIR problem.