Cloud-edge collaboration composition and scheduling for flexible manufacturing service with a multi-population co-evolutionary algorithm

The Cloud Manufacturing Service Composition and Scheduling (CMfg-SCS) are essential processes in cloud manufacturing. Flexible Manufacturing Services (FMS), such as those provided by industrial robots, are widely used in cloud manufacturing to improve service quality and efficiency. Traditional CMfg-SCS methodologies, however, fall short in effectively managing the inherent temporal-dynamic QoS and flexible capability of FMS. To overcome these challenges, we propose a novel Cloud Manufacturing Service Cloud-edge Collaboration Composition and Scheduling (CMfg-SCCCS) method for FMS. Firstly, the service-task matching hypernetwork is constructed, and the temporal-dynamic QoS and flexible capacity of FMS are modeled. Subsequently, we develop a CMfg-SCCCS optimization model aimed at three objectives, along with a cloud-edge collaboration scheduling mechanism to harmonize cloud and edge-local tasks. Finally, a multi-population co-evolution algorithm with adaptive meta-knowledge transfer mechanism is proposed to solve the complex optimization model. The computational experiments serve to validate the effectiveness of the CMfg-SCCCS method and further reveal the superiority of the co-evolution algorithm in enhancing both the convergence and diversity of the population.