Using answer set programming in an order-picking system with cellular transport vehicles

Abstract

Cellular transport systems are a field of research which has received some attention over the last few years. As a recently established topic, a large share of the current research is directed at fundamental topics dealing with the system's design and construction. Answer set programming, on the other hand, has been established in the early 90s and received steadily rising attention from thereon. In the presented paper, we aim to unite the topics of cellular transport systems and answer set programming to build a valuable fusion. By using answer set programming, the vehicles are given the autonomy to decide which driving task to fulfill next and to which picking station a corresponding customer order is assigned. The approach is evaluated using a simulation and proves to be superior to a conventional first-come-first-served approach.