Self-organizing warehouse management based on communicating distributed memory tags

Abstract

This paper is about a theoretic model for resource based communication using the example of an autonomous warehouse. Autonomous automata handle boxes in the warehouse just based on the information they can read in their direct environment. These automata act according to two concurring algorithms. One is for finding boxes and carrying them to an output. The other algorithm is used to store boxes inside the warehouse. There is no direct communication between different automata in the warehouse. Analogous to stationary pheromones their communication is based on information that can be read from and written to their direct environment. This environment is the common communication resource and is acting as collective memory used independently by all robot automata. By this simple communication model a structure emerges in the placement of the boxes. Although representable as a common cellular automaton this model is presented basing on robots moving on a grid and memory tags that can be read and written to.