Abstract

Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) have been frequently used as material handling equipment in manufacturing systems since the last two decades. Particularly, AGVs with trailers are, and will continue to be, the backbone of the material transport industry. In this paper, a study of the trajectories and simulation model of hypothetical systems, which include FMS (Flexible Manufacturing Systems) environment, were developed. In addition, a simulation model has been developed to assist in this respect. The simulation model is based on a distributed scheduling algorithm which also implements an advanced planning mechanism in the form of a decentralized Job Shop system control.