Congestion-aware dynamic routing in automated material handling systems

•Vehicular congestion in automated material handling systems reduces efficiency.•We propose and simulate a congestion-aware dynamic approach to vehicle routing.•Congestion-aware dynamic routing moderately improves steady-state performance.•Congestion-aware dynamic routing significantly reduces severe congestion.•Congestion-aware dynamic routing improves recovery from vehicle breakdown.

In automated material handling systems (AMHS), such as those used to transport wafers in semiconductor manufacturing facilities, vehicular congestion leads to transport delay and reduced production efficiency. Through the use of a high-fidelity simulation, we demonstrate a congestion-aware dynamic routing strategy that efficiently reroutes vehicles as congestion status changes. Steady-state routing performance moderately improves, the frequency of heavy congestion is significantly reduced, and the system recovers from vehicle breakdowns more efficiently.