LAPSE:2023.32635
Published Article
LAPSE:2023.32635
Increasing the Energy-Efficiency in Vacuum-Based Package Handling Using Deep Q-Learning
Felix Gabriel, Johannes Bergers, Franziska Aschersleben, Klaus Dröder
April 20, 2023
Billions of packages are automatically handled in warehouses every year. The gripping systems are, however, most often oversized in order to cover a large range of different carton types, package masses, and robot motions. In addition, a targeted optimization of the process parameters with the aim of reducing the oversizing requires prior knowledge, personnel resources, and experience. This paper investigates whether the energy-efficiency in vacuum-based package handling can be increased without the need for prior knowledge of optimal process parameters. The core method comprises the variation of the input pressure for the vacuum ejector, compliant to the robot trajectory and the resulting inertial forces at the gripper-object-interface. The control mechanism is trained by applying reinforcement learning with a deep Q-agent. In the proposed use case, the energy-efficiency can be increased by up to 70% within a few hours of learning. It is also demonstrated that the generalization capability with regard to multiple different robot trajectories is achievable. In the future, the industrial applicability can be enhanced by deployment of the deep Q-agent in a decentral system, to collect data from different pick and place processes and enable a generalizable and scalable solution for energy-efficient vacuum-based handling in warehouse automation.
Keywords
automation, deep Q-learning, energy-efficiency, vacuum-based handling
Suggested Citation
Gabriel F, Bergers J, Aschersleben F, Dröder K. Increasing the Energy-Efficiency in Vacuum-Based Package Handling Using Deep Q-Learning. (2023). LAPSE:2023.32635
Author Affiliations
Gabriel F: Institute of Machine Tools and Production Technology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Langer Kamp 19b, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany
Bergers J: Institute of Machine Tools and Production Technology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Langer Kamp 19b, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany
Aschersleben F: Institute of Machine Tools and Production Technology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Langer Kamp 19b, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany [ORCID]
Dröder K: Institute of Machine Tools and Production Technology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Langer Kamp 19b, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany
Journal Name
Energies
Volume
14
Issue
11
First Page
3185
Year
2021
Publication Date
2021-05-29
Published Version
ISSN
1996-1073
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Original Submission
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PII: en14113185, Publication Type: Journal Article
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LAPSE:2023.32635
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doi:10.3390/en14113185
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Apr 20, 2023
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