Multiagent coordination enabling autonomous logistics

284 Pages·2011·2.433 MB·English

by  Schuldt, Arne

Multiagent Coordination Enabling
Autonomous Logistics

Arne Schuldt
Multiagent Coordination
Enabling Autonomous
Logistics
123
ArneSchuldt
Universita¨tBremen
Technologie-ZentrumInformatik
undInformationstechnik(TZI)
AmFallturm1
28359Bremen
Germany
ISBN978-3-642-20091-5 e-ISBN978-3-642-20092-2
DOI10.1007/978-3-642-20092-2
SpringerHeidelbergDordrechtLondonNewYork
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2011934024
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To Jan and Ole

Foreword
This book is the exciting result of an extraordinary effort applied to practice
and science: before the author buried himself in the scientific intricacies of
MultiagentSystemscommunicationandcooperationresearchquestionswhen
starting his doctoral thesis, he took the opportunity to work as an intern for
several months with Tchibo Logistik GmbH. In order to get his arms around
what is being done in the important field of Supply Network Management
inside a logistics company which must react very fast to the turbulences of
real life logistics. He then returned to the scientific work at his alma mater
with a very clear understanding what his future research would be aimed
at: the development of a consistent and sound concept for the necessary
future decentralized decision-making in logistic supply networks. Given the
fact that the author received the 2010 Science Award for Logistics by the
GermanLogisticsAssociation(BVL)forthisdoctoralworkwherethedecisive
criterionfortheawardistheinnovativenatureandthatitrelatestopractical
experience, the success of his resolution appears to be obvious.
There are four separate contributions of this work to Supply Network
Management which extend to:
1. a comprehensive overview over the new field of autonomous logistics,
focusing on its motivation and enabling technologies,
2. a multiagent-based development concept that specifies acting units and
implements also their interaction in autonomous logistics processes,
3. an investigation of the cooperation problems of autonomous logistics en-
tities in order to achieve the logistics objectives imposed by the cargo
owners,
4. a case study of the application of the research results achieved so far
in real-world logistics processes in order to derive and demonstrate the
potential and the limitations of autonomous logistics.
These contributions are worked out in ten chapters in a sound scientific
wayunderpinnedbythesolidrequirementsofthereallogisticworldandsup-
ported by new theoretical results. Firstly, Supply Network Management is
vii
viii Foreword
considered which defines the basic logistic functions, the acting agents and
the inherent challenges. Then the interdependencies of the service providers
and the involved processes are dealt with before a theoretical basis is set
by the discussion of the novel decentralised decision-making approaches in-
cluding their potential and the challenges involved. This field is enabled by
the latest technologies, such as RFID, GPS, microelectronic sensors, wireless
communication, and the data processing facilities combining the available
information for a well-founded and robust decision-making.
Havingdefinedthelogisticrequirementsfordecentralizeddecision-making
in logistics Supply Networks, the author now turns to implementation ques-
tions where he identifies Multiagent Systems as a well-suited vehicle to carry
the load of an appropriate implementation solution. These Multiagent Sys-
tems offer the necessary approaches such as interaction, cooperation, and
even team formation in order to cover the logistic requirements. This poten-
tial is discussed further on by explicitly mapping software agents to logistics
providers of transport, handling, storage, and picking services and their or-
ganisationalstructureswhichtypicallyaredynamicalteamstructures.There-
fore, the automated team formation is one of the central requirements at the
concept level and is worked out very profoundly in this book, also in respect
tologisticsSupplyNetworks.Havingestablishedteams,thenextstepisteam
action, namely how to organize the teams of logistic services to achieve the
required performance.
It would have been a purely theoretical work with limited practical rele-
vanceiftheauthorhadnotalsoimplementedtheidentifiedlogisticsfunction-
ality based on the FIPA Multiagent Systems and the PlaSMA middleware
technologyinordertodemonstratethefeasibilityandtheeconomicalvalueof
his results. The proposed generic implementation of a Supply Network even
offers the opportunity to simulate the logistics processes, provided an ap-
propriate time model with the proper synchronisation mechanisms had been
chosen.Thisisanadditionaladvantageoftheproposedimplementation:only
small changes of the simulation code are required in order to switch to a live
application.
The final section of this book is concerned with a case study applying
the achieved results to real-life structures, processes, and figures. The poten-
tial for cooperation and the required effort can be shown analytically which
exhibits also the boundaries of a successful application of the principle of
autonomy. In addition, applying the autonomy principle using a Multiagent
System simulation to the real Tchibo logistics processes it can be success-
fully demonstrated that the transition of these actually centralized logistics
functions to autonomous logistics is also of advantage economically for the
onward carriage of containers and their distribution to warehouses.
This book lays a foundation for the analytical and simulated treatment of
processes in Supply Networks. It offers also an example for an appropriate
high-level (and thus by itself economical) implementation of the achieved re-
sults, and it even proves that the application of distributed decision-making
Foreword ix
in logistics contexts pays in the real world. There are not many works span-
ning this field in a most complete way. Therefore I wish this book to be
read by many logistics decision-makers and I do hope that it will initiate a
lively discussion on the virtues of distributed decision-making for real-world
logistics processes.
Bremen, Dr. Otthein Herzog
January 2011