Reinforcement learning based path planning of multiple agents of SwarmItFIX robot for fixturing operation in sheetmetal milling process

Veeramani, S. and Muthuswamy, S. 2022. Reinforcement learning based path planning of multiple agents of SwarmItFIX robot for fixturing operation in sheetmetal milling process. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture 10.1177/09544054221080031

Preview

PDF - Accepted Post-Print Version Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

SwarmItFIX (self-reconfigurable intelligent swarm fixtures) is a multi-agent setup mainly used as a robotic fixture for large Sheet metal machining operations. A Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP) based planning model is utilized currently for computing the locomotion sequence of multiple agents of the SwarmItFIX. But the SwarmItFIX faces several challenges with the current planner as it fails on several occasions. Moreover, the current planner computes only the goal positions of the base agent, not the path. To overcome these issues, a novel hierarchical planner is proposed, which employs Monte Carlo and SARSA TD based model-free Reinforcement Learning (RL) algorithms for the computation of locomotion sequences of head and base agents, respectively. These methods hold two distinct features when compared with the existing methods (i) the transition model is not required for obtaining the locomotion sequence of the computational agent, and (ii) the state-space of the computational agent become scalable. The obtained results show that the proposed planner is capable of delivering optimal makespan for effective fixturing during the sheet metal milling process.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Engineering
Publisher:	Professional Engineering Publishing (Institution of Mechanical Engineers)
ISSN:	0954-4054
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	21 February 2022
Last Modified:	27 Nov 2024 14:30
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/147585

Citation Data

Cited 1 time in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item