Designing a flexible evaluation of container loading using physics simulation

Abstract

In this work, an optimization method for 3D container loading problem with multiple constraints is proposed. The method consists of a genetic algorithm to generate an arrangement of cargoes and a fitness evaluation using physics simulation. The fitness function considers not only the maximization of container density or value but also a few different constraints such as stability and fragility of the cargoes during transportation. We employed a container shaking simulation to include the effect of the constraints to the fitness evaluation. We verified that the proposed method successfully provides the optimal cargo arrangement to the small-scale problem with 10 cargoes.