Scheduling of robotic flow shops with sequence dependent setup times based on correlation functions

In this paper, an extension of the theory of correlation scheduling is presented. It is applied to robotic cycle shops with non linear process-process interactions, as there are sequence dependent setup times or space dependent transport times. The scheduling model is built around correlation functions of the process operations. This representation can be conveniently analysed and used as a decision support for automated or human planning tasks. The theory has been verified by the scheduling benchmark PU12 of Philips and Linger for robotic cycle shops.