Three-Dimensional Bin Packing Problems with the Operating Time of a Robot Manipulator

Many optimization algorithms for solving three-dimensional bin-packing problems have been addressed. The problem is to minimize the cost of the bins in which packages are placed with the aim of reducing transportation costs and improving productivity. From the viewpoint of actual optimization of the entire factory, it is necessary to consider the motion planning of a robot manipulator to handle the items in the three-dimensional bin packing problem. This study considers a three-dimensional robotic bin packing problem, which minimizes the weighted sum of bin cost and the robot’s operating time. A genetic algorithm is developed using Sequence-Triple representation, a layout representation of a three-dimensional arrangement. For robot motion planning, the Rapidly Exploring Random Tree Star is used for trajectory generation to obtain near-optimal solutions. Computational experiments show the superiority of the proposed optimization method by comparing it with a conventional sequential optimization method.