A Combined Approach for Production Scheduling and Routing of Automated Guided Vehicles With Layered Time-Space Network

Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) are useful for material handling in case that a working area is narrow and layout changes frequently in a factory, such as container terminals and semiconductor fabrications. In the conventional studies, routing of AGVs is usually considered under a given optimal production schedule [1]. However, for the efficient processing operation in overall factory, it is necessary to consider the influence between production scheduling and transportation planning of AGVs.