Answer set programming for modeling and reasoning on modular and reconfigurable transportation systems

This paper addresses the modeling of modular and reconfigurable transportation systems, aiming at developing tools to support the planning and control. Answer Set Programming (ASP) is employed to formalize rules modeling the characteristic of a transportation system and describing its dynamics. Then, automatic reasoning can be exploited to find solutions in different use cases, including the generation of optimal or alternative paths, the generation and validation of control sequences. The proposed methodology is applied to a reconfigurable industrial transportation system consisting of multiple linear conveyor modules with actuators enabling longitudinal and transversal movements of pallets.