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1 – 10 of 237
Article
Publication date: 5 April 2024

Fangqi Hong, Pengfei Wei and Michael Beer

Bayesian cubature (BC) has emerged to be one of most competitive approach for estimating the multi-dimensional integral especially when the integrand is expensive to evaluate, and…

Abstract

Purpose

Bayesian cubature (BC) has emerged to be one of most competitive approach for estimating the multi-dimensional integral especially when the integrand is expensive to evaluate, and alternative acquisition functions, such as the Posterior Variance Contribution (PVC) function, have been developed for adaptive experiment design of the integration points. However, those sequential design strategies also prevent BC from being implemented in a parallel scheme. Therefore, this paper aims at developing a parallelized adaptive BC method to further improve the computational efficiency.

Design/methodology/approach

By theoretically examining the multimodal behavior of the PVC function, it is concluded that the multiple local maxima all have important contribution to the integration accuracy as can be selected as design points, providing a practical way for parallelization of the adaptive BC. Inspired by the above finding, four multimodal optimization algorithms, including one newly developed in this work, are then introduced for finding multiple local maxima of the PVC function in one run, and further for parallel implementation of the adaptive BC.

Findings

The superiority of the parallel schemes and the performance of the four multimodal optimization algorithms are then demonstrated and compared with the k-means clustering method by using two numerical benchmarks and two engineering examples.

Originality/value

Multimodal behavior of acquisition function for BC is comprehensively investigated. All the local maxima of the acquisition function contribute to adaptive BC accuracy. Parallelization of adaptive BC is realized with four multimodal optimization methods.

Details

Engineering Computations, vol. 41 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-4401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 January 2024

Qiaojun Zhou, Ruilong Gao, Zenghong Ma, Gonghao Cao and Jianneng Chen

The purpose of this article is to solve the issue that apple-picking robots are easily interfered by branches or other apples near the target apple in an unstructured environment…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to solve the issue that apple-picking robots are easily interfered by branches or other apples near the target apple in an unstructured environment, leading to grasping failure and apple damage.

Design/methodology/approach

This study introduces the system units of the apple-picking robot prototype, proposes a method to determine the apple-picking direction via 3D point cloud data and optimizes the path planning method according to the calculated picking direction.

Findings

After the field experiments, the average deviation of the calculated picking direction from the desired angle was 11.81°, the apple picking success rate was 82% and the picking cycle was 11.1 s.

Originality/value

This paper describes a picking control method for an apple-picking robot that can improve the success and reliability of picking in an unstructured environment and provides a basis for automated and mechanized picking in the future.

Details

Industrial Robot: the international journal of robotics research and application, vol. 51 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 April 2024

Liyi Zhang, Mingyue Fu, Teng Fei, Ming K. Lim and Ming-Lang Tseng

This study reduces carbon emission in logistics distribution to realize the low-carbon site optimization for a cold chain logistics distribution center problem.

Abstract

Purpose

This study reduces carbon emission in logistics distribution to realize the low-carbon site optimization for a cold chain logistics distribution center problem.

Design/methodology/approach

This study involves cooling, commodity damage and carbon emissions and establishes the site selection model of low-carbon cold chain logistics distribution center aiming at minimizing total cost, and grey wolf optimization algorithm is used to improve the artificial fish swarm algorithm to solve a cold chain logistics distribution center problem.

Findings

The optimization results and stability of the improved algorithm are significantly improved and compared with other intelligent algorithms. The result is confirmed to use the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region site selection. This study reduces composite cost of cold chain logistics and reduces damage to environment to provide a new idea for developing cold chain logistics.

Originality/value

This study contributes to propose an optimization model of low-carbon cold chain logistics site by considering various factors affecting cold chain products and converting carbon emissions into costs. Prior studies are lacking to take carbon emissions into account in the logistics process. The main trend of current economic development is low-carbon and the logistics distribution is an energy consumption and high carbon emissions.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-5577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 March 2024

Sanaz Khalaj Rahimi and Donya Rahmani

The study aims to optimize truck routes by minimizing social and economic costs. It introduces a strategy involving diverse drones and their potential for reusing at DNs based on…

24

Abstract

Purpose

The study aims to optimize truck routes by minimizing social and economic costs. It introduces a strategy involving diverse drones and their potential for reusing at DNs based on flight range. In HTDRP-DC, trucks can select and transport various drones to LDs to reduce deprivation time. This study estimates the nonlinear deprivation cost function using a linear two-piece-wise function, leading to MILP formulations. A heuristic-based Benders Decomposition approach is implemented to address medium and large instances. Valid inequalities and a heuristic method enhance convergence boundaries, ensuring an efficient solution methodology.

Design/methodology/approach

Research has yet to address critical factors in disaster logistics: minimizing the social and economic costs simultaneously and using drones in relief distribution; deprivation as a social cost measures the human suffering from a shortage of relief supplies. The proposed hybrid truck-drone routing problem minimizing deprivation cost (HTDRP-DC) involves distributing relief supplies to dispersed demand nodes with undamaged (LDs) or damaged (DNs) access roads, utilizing multiple trucks and diverse drones. A Benders Decomposition approach is enhanced by accelerating techniques.

Findings

Incorporating deprivation and economic costs results in selecting optimal routes, effectively reducing the time required to assist affected areas. Additionally, employing various drone types and their reuse in damaged nodes reduces deprivation time and associated deprivation costs. The study employs valid inequalities and the heuristic method to solve the master problem, substantially reducing computational time and iterations compared to GAMS and classical Benders Decomposition Algorithm. The proposed heuristic-based Benders Decomposition approach is applied to a disaster in Tehran, demonstrating efficient solutions for the HTDRP-DC regarding computational time and convergence rate.

Originality/value

Current research introduces an HTDRP-DC problem that addresses minimizing deprivation costs considering the vehicle’s arrival time as the deprivation time, offering a unique solution to optimize route selection in relief distribution. Furthermore, integrating heuristic methods and valid inequalities into the Benders Decomposition approach enhances its effectiveness in solving complex routing challenges in disaster scenarios.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 March 2024

Yahao Wang, Zhen Li, Yanghong Li and Erbao Dong

In response to the challenge of reduced efficiency or failure of robot motion planning algorithms when faced with end-effector constraints, this study aims to propose a new…

Abstract

Purpose

In response to the challenge of reduced efficiency or failure of robot motion planning algorithms when faced with end-effector constraints, this study aims to propose a new constraint method to improve the performance of the sampling-based planner.

Design/methodology/approach

In this work, a constraint method (TC method) based on the idea of cross-sampling is proposed. This method uses the tangent space in the workspace to approximate the constrained manifold pattern and projects the entire sampling process into the workspace for constraint correction. This method avoids the need for extensive computational work involving multiple iterations of the Jacobi inverse matrix in the configuration space and retains the sampling properties of the sampling-based algorithm.

Findings

Simulation results demonstrate that the performance of the planner when using the TC method under the end-effector constraint surpasses that of other methods. Physical experiments further confirm that the TC-Planner does not cause excessive constraint errors that might lead to task failure. Moreover, field tests conducted on robots underscore the effectiveness of the TC-Planner, and its excellent performance, thereby advancing the autonomy of robots in power-line connection tasks.

Originality/value

This paper proposes a new constraint method combined with the rapid-exploring random trees algorithm to generate collision-free trajectories that satisfy the constraints for a high-dimensional robotic system under end-effector constraints. In a series of simulation and experimental tests, the planner using the TC method under end-effector constraints efficiently performs. Tests on a power distribution live-line operation robot also show that the TC method can greatly aid the robot in completing operation tasks with end-effector constraints. This helps robots to perform tasks with complex end-effector constraints such as grinding and welding more efficiently and autonomously.

Details

Industrial Robot: the international journal of robotics research and application, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 January 2024

Wenlong Cheng and Wenjun Meng

This study aims to solve the problem of job scheduling and multi automated guided vehicle (AGV) cooperation in intelligent manufacturing workshops.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to solve the problem of job scheduling and multi automated guided vehicle (AGV) cooperation in intelligent manufacturing workshops.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, an algorithm for job scheduling and cooperative work of multiple AGVs is designed. In the first part, with the goal of minimizing the total processing time and the total power consumption, the niche multi-objective evolutionary algorithm is used to determine the processing task arrangement on different machines. In the second part, AGV is called to transport workpieces, and an improved ant colony algorithm is used to generate the initial path of AGV. In the third part, to avoid path conflicts between running AGVs, the authors propose a simple priority-based waiting strategy to avoid collisions.

Findings

The experiment shows that the solution can effectively deal with job scheduling and multiple AGV operation problems in the workshop.

Originality/value

In this paper, a collaborative work algorithm is proposed, which combines the job scheduling and AGV running problem to make the research results adapt to the real job environment in the workshop.

Details

Robotic Intelligence and Automation, vol. 44 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2754-6969

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 April 2024

Boxiang Xiao, Zhengdong Liu, Jia Shi and Yuanxia Wang

Accurate and automatic clothing pattern making is very important in personalized clothing customization and virtual fitting room applications. Clothing pattern generating as well…

Abstract

Purpose

Accurate and automatic clothing pattern making is very important in personalized clothing customization and virtual fitting room applications. Clothing pattern generating as well as virtual clothing simulation is an attractive research issue both in clothing industry and computer graphics.

Design/methodology/approach

Physics-based method is an effective way to model dynamic process and generate realistic clothing animation. Due to conceptual simplicity and computational speed, mass-spring model is frequently used to simulate deformable and soft objects follow the natural physical rules. We present a physics-based clothing pattern generating framework by using scanned human body model. After giving a scanned human body model, first, we extract feature points, planes and curves on the 3D model by geometric analysis, and then, we construct a remeshed surface which has been formatted to connected quad meshes. Second, for each clothing piece in 3D, we construct a mass-spring model with same topological structures, and conduct a typical time integration algorithm to the mass-spring model. Finally, we get the convergent clothing pieces in 2D of all clothing parts, and we reconnected parts which are adjacent on 3D model to generate the basic clothing pattern.

Findings

The results show that the presented method is a feasible way for clothing pattern generating by use of scanned human body model.

Originality/value

The main contribution of this work is twofold: one is the geometric algorithm to scanned human body model, which is specially conducted for clothing pattern design to extract feature points, planes and curves. This is the crucial base for suit clothing pattern generating. Another is the physics-based pattern generating algorithm which flattens the 3D shape to 2D shape of cloth pattern pieces.

Details

International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0955-6222

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 November 2023

Pham Duc Tai, Krit Jinawat and Jirachai Buddhakulsomsiri

Distribution network design involves a set of strategic decisions in supply chains because of their long-term impacts on the total logistics cost and environment. To incorporate a…

Abstract

Purpose

Distribution network design involves a set of strategic decisions in supply chains because of their long-term impacts on the total logistics cost and environment. To incorporate a trade-off between financial and environmental aspects of these decisions, this paper aims to determine an optimal location, among candidate locations, of a new logistics center, its capacity, as well as optimal network flows for an existing distribution network, while concurrently minimizing the total logistics cost and gas emission. In addition, uncertainty in transportation and warehousing costs are considered.

Design/methodology/approach

The problem is formulated as a fuzzy multiobjective mathematical model. The effectiveness of this model is demonstrated using an industrial case study. The problem instance is a four-echelon distribution network with 22 products and a planning horizon of 20 periods. The model is solved by using the min–max and augmented ε-constraint methods with CPLEX as the solver. In addition to illustrating model’s applicability, the effect of choosing a new warehouse in the model is investigated through a scenario analysis.

Findings

For the applicability of the model, the results indicate that the augmented ε-constraint approach provides a set of Pareto solutions, which represents the ideal trade-off between the total logistics cost and gas emission. Through a case study problem instance, the augmented ε-constraint approach is recommended for similar network design problems. From a scenario analysis, when the operational cost of the new warehouse is within a specific fraction of the warehousing cost of third-party warehouses, the solution with the new warehouse outperforms that without the new warehouse with respective to financial and environmental objectives.

Originality/value

The proposed model is an effective decision support tool for management, who would like to assess the impact of network planning decisions on the performance of their supply chains with respect to both financial and environmental aspects under uncertainty.

Article
Publication date: 28 November 2023

Tingting Tian, Hongjian Shi, Ruhui Ma and Yuan Liu

For privacy protection, federated learning based on data separation allows machine learning models to be trained on remote devices or in isolated data devices. However, due to the…

Abstract

Purpose

For privacy protection, federated learning based on data separation allows machine learning models to be trained on remote devices or in isolated data devices. However, due to the limited resources such as bandwidth and power of local devices, communication in federated learning can be much slower than in local computing. This study aims to improve communication efficiency by reducing the number of communication rounds and the size of information transmitted in each round.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper allows each user node to perform multiple local trainings, then upload the local model parameters to a central server. The central server updates the global model parameters by weighted averaging the parameter information. Based on this aggregation, user nodes first cluster the parameter information to be uploaded and then replace each value with the mean value of its cluster. Considering the asymmetry of the federated learning framework, adaptively select the optimal number of clusters required to compress the model information.

Findings

While maintaining the loss convergence rate similar to that of federated averaging, the test accuracy did not decrease significantly.

Originality/value

By compressing uplink traffic, the work can improve communication efficiency on dynamic networks with limited resources.

Details

International Journal of Web Information Systems, vol. 20 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1744-0084

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 April 2024

Felipe Sales Nogueira, João Luiz Junho Pereira and Sebastião Simões Cunha Jr

This study aims to apply for the first time in literature a new multi-objective sensor selection and placement optimization methodology based on the multi-objective Lichtenberg…

20

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to apply for the first time in literature a new multi-objective sensor selection and placement optimization methodology based on the multi-objective Lichtenberg algorithm and test the sensors' configuration found in a delamination identification case study.

Design/methodology/approach

This work aims to study the damage identification in an aircraft wing using the Lichtenberg and multi-objective Lichtenberg algorithms. The former is used to identify damages, while the last is associated with feature selection techniques to perform the first sensor placement optimization (SPO) methodology with variable sensor number. It is applied aiming for the largest amount of information about using the most used modal metrics in the literature and the smallest sensor number at the same time.

Findings

The proposed method was not only able to find a sensor configuration for each sensor number and modal metric but also found one that had full accuracy in identifying delamination location and severity considering triaxial modal displacements and minimal sensor number for all wing sections.

Originality/value

This study demonstrates for the first time in the literature how the most used modal metrics vary with the sensor number for an aircraft wing using a new multi-objective sensor selection and placement optimization methodology based on the multi-objective Lichtenberg algorithm.

1 – 10 of 237