Distributed control of flexible transfer system (FTS) using learning automata

This paper proposes a flexible transfer system (FTS) as one of the self-organizing manufacturing systems. The FTS is composed of autonomous robotic modules, which transfer a palette carrying an object. Through the self-organization of a multilayer strategic vector field corresponding to a task, the FTS can generate quasi-optimal transfer path in fully distributed way. We apply the learning automata for path generation algorithm. Simulation is conducted to evaluate the basic performance of the system and the results show the feasibility of application. Also, the developed hardware is explained.