A Multi-robot Multi-target Path Planning Algorithm for Pickup and Delivery Tasks in Intelligent Warehousing
摘要
In intelligent warehousing systems, once multiple logistics parcel delivery tasks are assigned to delivery robots, it becomes essential to plan robots’ conflict-free movement paths. These paths must ensure that robots can sequentially complete batch delivery tasks at multiple target locations, including parcel pickup and drop-off locations, as specified in the task assignment plan. Additionally, the operational times for pickup or drop-off at these locations must be considered. To effectively address the challenges of multi-robot, multi-target location path planning in intelligent warehousing systems, this paper proposes a novel path planning method designed for a single robot navigating through multiple target locations. Subsequently, this method enhances traditional algorithms, such as Conflict-Based Search (CBS), Enhanced Conflict-Based Search (ECBS), Meta-Agent Conflict-Based Search (MA-CBS), and Meta-Agent Enhanced Conflict-Based Search (MA-ECBS), to optimize path planning for scenarios involving multiple robots and multiple target locations. These enhanced algorithms lead to the development of four advanced frameworks: CBS-based, ECBS-based, MA-CBS-based, and MA-ECBS-based multi-robot, multi-target path planning methods (MRMTPPM). Case studies have confirmed that CBS-based-MRMTPPM significantly reduces path travel times, while the enhancements to the MA-ECBS-MRMTPPM improve overall planning efficiency.