Path Planning of Slab Library Crane Based on Improved Ant Colony Algorithm
Yuntao Zhao, Weigang Li, Xiao Wang, Chengxin Yi · Mathematical Problems in Engineering · 2019
Due to the equipment characteristics (for example, the crane of each span cannot transfer products directly to other spans and path has less turning points and no slash lines) in a slab library, slab transportation is mainly realized by manually operating the crane. Firstly, the grid method is used to model the slab library. Secondly, an improved ant colony algorithm is proposed. The algorithm is used to solve the path planning of the slab library crane, which is improved by integrating the turning points, filtering the candidate solutions, dynamically evaporating pheromone, setting the dynamic region, etc. Finally, the algorithm is applied to plan the crane path of the slab library. The results show that the obstacle‐free optimal path with fewer turning points, no slash lines, and short paths is found automatically.