Rainer E. Burkard, Bernd Fruhwirth, and Günter Rote:

Vehicle routing in an automated warehouse: analysis and optimization

Abstract

This study concerns the design of an operating system for vehicles in an automated warehouse. The lay-out of the warehouse, and the number and properties of the vehicles are given. The objective is to maximize the throughput. Using a partial enumeration technique we simulate several alternatives for the control and interplay of the vehicles within a reasonable time horizon. A subproblem is solved by network flow techniques. The algorithm is implemented as part of an automatic control system, and it has lead to a satisfactory performance.