Design and simulation of a multi-agent autonomous robot system for industrial facilities

Abstract

In this study we aim to observe the usage of multi-agent autonomous robots in industrial facilities and the related alternative application details of this usage. The purpose of the utilization of multi-agent autonomous robots in manufacturing plants is to pass over the bottlenecks existing in the usage of Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) systems, which are being used in transportation of materials in such systems. Multi-agent autonomous robots are a current research issue in the field of robotics. Unlike AGV systems, determining their routes without using fixed transmitters, autonomous robots will be able to move liberally between loading and unloading points. Mobility in manufacturing environment very frequently causes the blockage of the route of AGV systems or gives way to the impossibility of using such environment for other activities. In case of interruption of paths by fixed obstacles or dynamic obstacles described as workers, robots will be able to continue towards their targeted destination either by maneuvers of avoidance or by determining a new route. Consequently this situation will provide a new facility for a more flexible manufacturing. For modeling the environment in our study, we have applied Webots, a 3-D simulation program that, both with its graphical interface and its C, C++ and Java programming units, is used to create a test environment for the applications of units, various production environment layouts, robotic elements trials, robot architecture and different path planning and task assignment strategies. In our studies, robots and production environment have been modeled and programmed. Conclusions of simulations have all been evaluated to measure the proposed system’s responsiveness to flexible manufacturing. The files and instructions necessary to run the simulation program are available in the appendix CD which is attached inside the back cover of the thesis. Information related to the content and usage of the appendix CD is in the Read.Me text file.