Space Splitting and Merging Technique for Online 3-D Bin Packing

Abstract

This paper introduces a novel method for online 3-D bin packing, which is a strongly NP-hard problem, based on a space splitting and merging technique. In this scenario, the incoming box is unknown and must be immediately packed. The problem has many applications in industries that use manipulators to automate the packing process. The main idea of the approach is to divide the bin into spaces. These spaces are then categorized into one of two types of data structures: main and secondary data structures. Each node in the main data structure holds the information of a space that can be used to fit a new box. Each node in the secondary data structure holds the information of a space that cannot be used to place a box. The search algorithm based on these two data structures reduces the required search effort and simplifies the organizing and editing of the data structure. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can achieve a packed volume ratio of up to 83% in the case of multiple bins being used. The position of a placed box can be found within milliseconds.

A greedy online 3D bin packing algorithm based on multi-indicator fusion

“…For the online bin packing problem, according to the reference [7] , this paper considers the basic geometric constraints: (1) the items are all placed orthogonally, i.e., the items have to be placed either parallel or perpendicular to the sides of the container; (2) there is no overlap between the items; (3) all the items need to be inside the container. In addition to the basic constraints, this paper also considers the practical constraints: (1) the items can only be rotated around the Z-axis, because many items are not allowed to be placed upside down or sideways; (2) the bottom of the items needs to have enough support to ensure that the items will not tip over.…”

“…Ha et al proposed a heuristic algorithm for online bin packing, OnlineBPH [1] , which selects the first remaining space where items can be placed in the order of deepest-bottom-left. Nguyen et al proposed an online bin packing heuristic algorithm utilizing space partitioning and merging techniques [2] . Wang et al proposed a method to minimize the height map [3] .…”

Volumetric Techniques for Product Routing and Loading Optimisation in Industry 4.0: A Review

“…Numerous other studies explore the application of robotics to solve the CLP and its variants. For instance, Nguyen and Nguyen [49] propose a heuristic-based solution for the Online 3D-BPP, highlighting the simplicity of the solution. Shuai et al [21] address the real-world challenges of handling non-standard and deformable boxes, demonstrating a robotic system capable of accommodating such complexities.…”

A Software Toolbox for Realistic Dataset Generation for Testing Online and Offline 3D Bin Packing Algorithms

“…Commonly used online datasets are based on variable-sized datasets, random sequences or random sampling, which neglects the limited availability of containers [6]. Recently, Zhao et al generated a dataset with 64 instances addressing this issue [20,21]. A large body of research uses the guillotine cut method to generate the problem instances [22][23][24].…”