Edge computing-based real-time scheduling for digital twin flexible job shop with variable time window

Abstract

• A new R-DTFJSS idea was developed to realise high-efficiency production. • Edge computing-based R-DTFJSS framework can enhance the data processing ability. • A variable time window-based RS strategy was used to achieve operation allocation. • An IHA-based solve method was designed to reduce the computational complexity. Production scheduling is the central link between enterprise production and operation management and is also the key to realising efficient, high-quality and sustainable production. However, in real-world manufacturing, the frequent occurrence of abnormal disturbance leads to the deviation of scheduling, which affects the accuracy and reliability of scheduling execution. The traditional dynamic scheduling methods (TDSMs) cannot solve this problem effectively. This paper presents a real-time digital twin flexible job shop scheduling (R-DTFJSS) method with edge computing to address the issue. Firstly, an overall framework of R-DTFJSS is proposed to realise real-time scheduling (RS) through real-time interaction between physical workshop (PW) and virtual workshop (VW). Secondly, the implementation process of R-DTFJSS is designed to realise real-time operation allocation. Then, to obtain the optimal RS result, an improved Hungarian algorithm (IHA) is adopted. Finally, a case simulation from an industrial case of a cooperative enterprise is described and analysed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed R-DTFJSS method. The results show that compared with the TDSMs, the R-DTFJSS method can effectively deal with unexpected and frequent abnormal disturbances in the production process.