Smart container loading. (c2008)

Abstract

The need to move various items from one location to another has become a primary need of most companies. Items are usually boxed and arranged inside containers to be transported from one location to the other. Most companies pay shipments by the number of containers being transported; therefore, it is in the interest of the company to minimize that number. Furthermore, some items might have properties, which force special constraints on how and where they are stored inside the container. In this work, we propose an agent based solution for maximizing the use of a single container; thus, reducing the transportation cost for the companies having their items transported, as well as increasing transportation performance for transportation companies. Separate agents are used for packing, tracking, loading and unloading items. Also, artificial intelligence is provided through the use of the PROLOG programming language to specify rules and constraints on items loaded as well as on the container itself.