Intelligent warehouse multi-robot scheduling system based on improved A* algorithm

The multi-robot intelligent dispatch system for warehouse means that in the warehouse system, order processing is carried out by each robot transporting a designated rack to the picking station, and the task allocation and path planning of the robot are particularly important to improve the system efficiency. In this paper, we choose a task allocation algorithm based on market auction, in which the robot combines the cost of the task itself with the associated cost between tasks to optimize the total distance of all robots and the longest running time of robots when bidding. And for multi-robot path planning, the grid method is used to model the map, and an improved A* algorithm is proposed, which combines the traditional A* algorithm with the traffic regulations and the reservation table to realize the optimal path from the start point to the target point. At the end of the paper, we make simulation experiments. The GUI interface is designed to show the task generation, distribution and robot working status in the warehousing environment and the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed scheme are verified.

1 Introduction

In recent years, there has been a significant development in information technology and industrial technology, leading to a global wave of technological advancement centered around artificial intelligence. E-commerce logistics, as one of the fastest-growing industries in China, faces challenges such as a high volume of platform business, diverse products, and high precision requirements. Relying solely on manual operations not only fails to meet efficiency requirements but also increases enterprise costs. Therefore, the complex operation and management of warehousing and logistics systems require greater automation, diversification, informatization and intelligentization.