Bi-Objective Circular Multi-Rail-Guided Vehicle Scheduling Optimization Considering Multi-Type Entry and Delivery Tasks: A Combined Genetic Algorithm and Symmetry Algorithm

Circular rail-guided vehicles (RGVs) are widely used in automated warehouses, and their efficiency directly determines the transportation efficiency of the entire system. The congestion frequency of RGVs greatly increases when facing dense multi-type entry and delivery tasks, affecting overall transportation efficiency. This article focuses on the RGV scheduling problem of multi-type parallel transportation tasks in a real-world automated warehouse, considering maximizing efficiency while reducing energy consumption and thus establishing the RGV scheduling optimization model. At the same time, an improved genetic algorithm (GA) based on symmetry selection function and offspring population structure symmetry is proposed to solve the above RGV scheduling problem, achieving the model solution. The case study demonstrates the superiority of the proposed method in breaking local optima and achieving bi-objective optimization in genetic algorithms.