Creativity in Engineering Award/Lisa R. DuBois

最近的技术发展给仓储系统的设计和操作带来了一场革命。制造业的趋势，如准时生产的经营理念，对高效的存储/检索系统的需求增加了。在库存控制、仓储和订单拣选领域，在操作哲学、分析模型和控制算法的发展方面进行了重要的研究。许多理论研究尚未成功地应用于实际情况。目前迫切需要整合当前的物料处理知识，并开发系统，将这一理论和研究应用于制造和仓储。本研究的目的是开发一个专家系统，该系统将解决一个仓库系统的动态控制问题，该系统经历了不断变化的控制变量和不断变化的约束。该系统将建立在当前测序知识和研究的基础上，并将其范围扩大到应用于现实世界的动态系统。

Recent technological developments have brought on a revolution in the design and operation of warehousing systems. Trends in manufacturing such as the just-in-time operating philosophy have produced an increased demand for efficient storage/retrieval systems. Within the fields of inventory control, warehousing, and order picking, significant research has been conducted in the development of operating philosophies, analytical models, and control algorithms. Much of this theoretical research has yet to be applied successfully to actual situations. There is real need for the integration of current material handling knowledge and for the development of systems to apply this theory and research to manufacturing and warehousing. %%% The objective of this research is to develop an expert system that will address the issue of dynamic control of a warehouse system that experiences changing control variables and changing constraints. A system which will build upon the current sequencing knowledge and research and broadens its scope to apply to a real world dynamic system.