Ant Colony Optimization


Book Description

An overview of the rapidly growing field of ant colony optimization that describes theoretical findings, the major algorithms, and current applications. The complex social behaviors of ants have been much studied by science, and computer scientists are now finding that these behavior patterns can provide models for solving difficult combinatorial optimization problems. The attempt to develop algorithms inspired by one aspect of ant behavior, the ability to find what computer scientists would call shortest paths, has become the field of ant colony optimization (ACO), the most successful and widely recognized algorithmic technique based on ant behavior. This book presents an overview of this rapidly growing field, from its theoretical inception to practical applications, including descriptions of many available ACO algorithms and their uses. The book first describes the translation of observed ant behavior into working optimization algorithms. The ant colony metaheuristic is then introduced and viewed in the general context of combinatorial optimization. This is followed by a detailed description and guide to all major ACO algorithms and a report on current theoretical findings. The book surveys ACO applications now in use, including routing, assignment, scheduling, subset, machine learning, and bioinformatics problems. AntNet, an ACO algorithm designed for the network routing problem, is described in detail. The authors conclude by summarizing the progress in the field and outlining future research directions. Each chapter ends with bibliographic material, bullet points setting out important ideas covered in the chapter, and exercises. Ant Colony Optimization will be of interest to academic and industry researchers, graduate students, and practitioners who wish to learn how to implement ACO algorithms.




Assembly Line Design


Book Description

Efficient assembly line design is a problem of considerable industrial importance. Assembly Line Design will be bought by technical personnel working in design, planning and production departments in industry as well as managers in industry who want to learn more about concurrent engineering. This book will also be purchased by researchers and postgraduate students in mechanical, manufacturing or micro-engineering.




Multi-Agent-Based Production Planning and Control


Book Description

At the crossroads of artificial intelligence, manufacturing engineering, operational research and industrial engineering and management, multi-agent based production planning and control is an intelligent and industrially crucial technology with increasing importance. This book provides a complete overview of multi-agent based methods for today’s competitive manufacturing environment, including the Job Shop Manufacturing and Re-entrant Manufacturing processes. In addition to the basic control and scheduling systems, the author also highlights advance research in numerical optimization methods and wireless sensor networks and their impact on intelligent production planning and control system operation. Enables students, researchers and engineers to understand the fundamentals and theories of multi-agent based production planning and control Written by an author with more than 20 years’ experience in studying and formulating a complete theoretical system in production planning technologies Fully illustrated throughout, the methods for production planning, scheduling and controlling are presented using experiments, numerical simulations and theoretical analysis Comprehensive and concise, Multi-Agent Based Production Planning and Control is aimed at the practicing engineer and graduate student in industrial engineering, operational research, and mechanical engineering. It is also a handy guide for advanced students in artificial intelligence and computer engineering.




Introduction to Computational Optimization Models for Production Planning in a Supply Chain


Book Description

An easy-to-read introduction to the concepts associated with the creation of optimization models for production planning starts off this book. These concepts are then applied to well-known planning models, namely mrp and MRP II. From this foundation, fairly sophisticated models for supply chain management are developed. Another unique feature is that models are developed with an eye toward implementation. In fact, there is a chapter that provides explicit examples of implementation of the basic models using a variety of popular, commercially available modeling languages.




Introduction to Autonomous Mobile Robots, second edition


Book Description

The second edition of a comprehensive introduction to all aspects of mobile robotics, from algorithms to mechanisms. Mobile robots range from the Mars Pathfinder mission's teleoperated Sojourner to the cleaning robots in the Paris Metro. This text offers students and other interested readers an introduction to the fundamentals of mobile robotics, spanning the mechanical, motor, sensory, perceptual, and cognitive layers the field comprises. The text focuses on mobility itself, offering an overview of the mechanisms that allow a mobile robot to move through a real world environment to perform its tasks, including locomotion, sensing, localization, and motion planning. It synthesizes material from such fields as kinematics, control theory, signal analysis, computer vision, information theory, artificial intelligence, and probability theory. The book presents the techniques and technology that enable mobility in a series of interacting modules. Each chapter treats a different aspect of mobility, as the book moves from low-level to high-level details. It covers all aspects of mobile robotics, including software and hardware design considerations, related technologies, and algorithmic techniques. This second edition has been revised and updated throughout, with 130 pages of new material on such topics as locomotion, perception, localization, and planning and navigation. Problem sets have been added at the end of each chapter. Bringing together all aspects of mobile robotics into one volume, Introduction to Autonomous Mobile Robots can serve as a textbook or a working tool for beginning practitioners. Curriculum developed by Dr. Robert King, Colorado School of Mines, and Dr. James Conrad, University of North Carolina-Charlotte, to accompany the National Instruments LabVIEW Robotics Starter Kit, are available. Included are 13 (6 by Dr. King and 7 by Dr. Conrad) laboratory exercises for using the LabVIEW Robotics Starter Kit to teach mobile robotics concepts.




Process Planning and Scheduling for Distributed Manufacturing


Book Description

This is the first book to focus on emerging technologies for distributed intelligent decision-making in process planning and dynamic scheduling. It has two sections: a review of several key areas of research, and an in-depth treatment of particular techniques. Each chapter addresses a specific problem domain and offers practical solutions to solve it. The book provides a better understanding of the present state and future trends of research in this area.




Handbook of Production Scheduling


Book Description

This book concentrates on real-world production scheduling in factories and industrial settings. It includes industry case studies that use innovative techniques as well as academic research results that can be used to improve production scheduling. Its purpose is to present scheduling principles, advanced tools, and examples of innovative scheduling systems to persons who could use this information to improve their own production scheduling.




Handbook of Production Management Methods


Book Description

This unique book provides a guide to the selection of appropriate production and manufacturing methods for postgraduate and professional manufacturing engineers. It starts by helping the reader to identify the required objectives of industrial management for their particular situation. Having identified the objectives an analytical assessment of the available production and management methods is made. The analytical system presents an objective method of production selection. For example, this practical book will help the reader to decide whether or not a local Just-in-Time process is needed or a full chain JIT method is needed. Alternatively the problem may be deciding between set-up time reduction or changeover time reduction. Should TQM be ceded to PCIs? This book covers nearly all methods of production and manufacturing and will prove the most comprehensive guide to choosing and using these methods. - Only book of its kind available - Widest coverage of methods available - Analytical approach to decision making