A genetic algorithm approach for the scheduling in a robotic-centric flexible manufacturing system

Scheduling assumes a crucial importance in manufacturing systems, optimizing the allocation of operations to the right resources at the most appropriate time. Particularly in the Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) topology, where the combination of possibilities for this association exponential increases, the scheduling task is even more critical. This paper presents a heuristic scheduling method based on genetic algorithm for a robotic-centric FMS. Real experiments show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, ensuring a reliable and optimized scheduling process.This work was funded by the ERDF European Regional Development Fund through the COMPETE Programme (operational programme for competitive-ness) and by National Funds through the FCT within projects SAICTPAC/0034/2015,POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016418, POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007043 and UID/CEC/00319/2013.