Universität Bremen
Fachbereich 3 (Mathematik und Informatik)
Supply network management is a challenging task due to the complexity, the dynamics, and the distribution of logistics processes. Automated process control thus requires to reduce the computational complexity and to cope with the dynamics locally. The paradigm of autonomous logistics means that control of logistics processes is delegated to the participating objects. As an example, shipping containers may themselves plan and schedule their way through logistics networks in accordance with objectives imposed by their owners. This book describes the implementation of autonomous control with multiagent technology. The presented solution has been used in a realistic simulation of real-world container logistics processes. The validation shows that autonomous control is actually possible and that it outperforms the previous centralised dispatching approach by significantly increasing the resource utilisation efficiency. Moreover, the multiagent system relieves human dispatchers from dealing with standard cases, giving them more time to solve exceptional cases appropriately.
The dissertation has been awarded with the Science Award for Logistics 2010 of the German Logistics Association (BVL). The decisive criterion for the award are the innovative nature and the practical relevance of the submitted work. The Science Award for Logistics carries cash prices of Euro 10,000 for the award winner and Euro 10,000 for the supervising institute. In 2010, the award was supported by Oskar Schunck AG & Co. KG, Munich.
Schuldt, A. (2010). Multiagent Coordination Enabling Autonomous Logistics. Doctoral Dissertation, Universität Bremen. Science Award for Logistics 2010.