Numerical evaluation of sample gathering solutions for mobile robots

Burlacu, A. ; Kloetzer, M. ; Mahulea, C. (Universidad de Zaragoza)

Resumen: This paper applies mathematical modeling and solution numerical evaluation to the problem of collecting a set of samples scattered throughout a graph environment and transporting them to a storage facility. A team of identical robots is available, where each robot has a limited amount of energy and it can carry one sample at a time. The graph weights are related to energy and time consumed for moving between adjacent nodes, and thus, the task is transformed to a specific optimal assignment problem. The design of the mathematical model starts from a mixed-integer linear programming problem whose solution yields an optimal movement plan that minimizes the total time for gathering all samples. For reducing the computational complexity of the optimal solution, we develop two sub-optimal relaxations and then we quantitatively compare all the approaches based on extensive numerical simulations. The numerical evaluation yields a decision diagram that can help a user to choose the appropriate method for a given problem instance.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.3390/app9040791

Año: 2019

Publicado en: Applied Sciences (Switzerland) 9, 4 (2019), 791 [18 pp]
ISSN: 2076-3417

Factor impacto JCR: 2.474 (2019)

Categ. JCR: PHYSICS, APPLIED rank: 62 / 154 = 0.403 (2019) - Q2 - T2
Categ. JCR: ENGINEERING, MULTIDISCIPLINARY rank: 32 / 91 = 0.352 (2019) - Q2 - T2
Categ. JCR: CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY rank: 88 / 176 = 0.5 (2019) - Q2 - T2
Categ. JCR: MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY rank: 161 / 314 = 0.513 (2019) - Q3 - T2

Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 0.418 - Engineering (miscellaneous) (Q1) - Fluid Flow and Transfer Processes (Q2) - Process Chemistry and Technology (Q2) - Instrumentation (Q2) - Materials Science (miscellaneous) (Q2) - Computer Science Applications (Q3)

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)

Área (Departamento): Área Ingen.Sistemas y Automát. (Dpto. Informát.Ingenie.Sistms.)