A Novel Tabu Search Algorithm for Multi-AGV Routing Problem

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a novel tabu search (NTS) algorithm that improves the efficiencies of picking goods of automated guided vehicles (AGVs) in an automatic warehouse by solving the conflicts that happen when multiple AGVs work at the same time. Relocation and exchanging operations are designed for the neighborhood searching process based on each pickup-point’s location in the warehouse, along with the initial solution generation and the termination condition in the proposed algorithm. The experimental results show that the tabu search algorithm can effectively optimize the order of pickup points, which could further reduce the total travel distance and improve the efficiencies of AGVs in automatic warehouses.