Optimization-based collision avoidance in multi-car elevator systems

An elevator system such that more than one car is installed in each elevator shaft is called a multi-car elevator system. This study proposes a method to avoid collisions between cars in a multi-car elevator system. In this method collision avoidance is treated as a dynamic optimization problem to determine which floor each car should visit next under the constraint that collisions never occur. The effectiveness of the proposed method is examined by computer simulations.