An approach to the autonomous job-shop scheduling problem by vibrating potential method

The scheduling problem is how to allocate a set of job to a set of resources under some constraints. Since the allocation of a set of job relates to the running cost of a factories, solving the scheduling problem is important for the management of factories. This paper aims at developing a new scheduling system based on the decentralized management approach to describing a mathematical model of the autonomic machines. Here, in order to develop a more generalized theory for the control of autonomic machines, the vibrating potential method (VPM) is introduced. The VPM is described by placing each unit´s potential function on its own harmonic wave as axis. Each unit receives potential energy from the vibrating potential field (VPF) by convolution and decides its own strategy of motion independently. This paper proposes a new control method using field and discusses its application to the job-shop scheduling problem