Elevator group control as a constrained multiobjective optimization problem

Abstract

Modern elevator systems are controlled by the elevator group controllers that assign moving and stopping policies to the elevator cars. Designing an adequate elevator group control (EGC) policy is challenging for a number of reasons, one of them being conflicting optimization objectives. We address this task by formulating a corresponding constrained multiobjective optimization problem, and, in contrast to most studies in this domain, approach it using true multiobjective optimization methods capable of finding approximations for Pareto-optimal solutions. Specifically, we apply five multiobjective optimization algorithms with default constraint handling techniques and demonstrate their performance in optimizing EGC for nine elevator systems of various complexity. The experimental results confirm the scalability of the proposed methodology and suggest that NSGA-II equipped with the constrained-domination principle is the best performing algorithm on the test EGC systems. The proposed problem formulation and methodology allow for better understanding of the EGC design problem and provide insightful information to the stakeholders involved in deciding on elevator system configurations and control policies.