War, Space and Science Fiction; Automated Scheduling in the Real World
Speaker | Elena Kelareva; OMC International |
---|---|
Time | 2009-06-02 19:00 |
Conference | LUV |
Scheduling
- Have a set of tasks that require a limited set of resources.
- Need to be scheduled so tasks can run without clashing.
- If you have more tasks then time or resources allow.
Examples of scheduling
Making breakfast
- Eggs
- Toast, butter toast
- Coffee
Assembling cars
Painting car
- Undercoat
- Wait
- Paint
- Wait
- Polish
Chocolate factory, need to clean machine after making peanut bar (as people are allergic to peanuts). No need to clean machine after making milk bar.
CORALS: COmbat Resource ALlocation System
- human operators good at sequential threats.
- human operators have problems dealing with multiple threats at same time.
- computer gives operator advice but doesn’t take over.
- Scheduling vs planning: Scheduling and planning are two distinct concepts.
- operator need to trust the plan it comes up with.
How CORALS works
- Local plans (for every individual conflict) -> combined plan (lots of conflicts).
- combined plan (with conflicts) –> combined plan (no conflicts).
- Need to replan if threats change.
Hubble telescopic
- Only one telescope.
- Vision blocked by earth and sun.
- South Atlantic anomaly.
- Super novas, other special events, may take priority
- Need to schedule to deal with these.
- 1 completed piece of research more valuable then lots of incomplete pieces of research.
- Schedule at any time has list of priorities, which task is most important.
Patients at a Hospital
- Hospital is a limited resource with many patients.
- Diagnostic machines are a limited resource.
- Need to allow time for emergency patients.
- Patient in hospital can have test done over several days.
- Patient from outside doesn’t want to keep in on multiple days for different tests.
- Some doctors only available 9am-5pm.
- Some doctors may have preferences as to what machine is used.
- Early time spots cheapest, if they don’t get used they are wasted.
CPU scheduling
- Want UI to be responsive.
- Want background tasks to be fast.
- Switching between tasks faster may slow everything down.
- Super computer priorities different to desktop priorities:
- UI responsiveness important on desktop computer. Don’t want to wait for ever to have mouse pointer react to mouse movement.
- Background tasks more important on super computer.
- Be fair to all processes. Don’t let processes starve.
Port scheduling
- Port of Melbourne
- Work out when a ship can safely leave or enter a port.
- Work out 48 hours in advance how much the ship can be loaded to leave on time.
- Currently scheduled by hand, need to automate scheduling process.
- Some small ships can fit in at any time.
- Factors:
- tide, air pressure
- way the ship responds to waves (wave response)
- squat - large ship in narrow channel, sucks ship to bottom
- heel - when ship turns, one end goes down
- bottom clearance
- maneuverability margin
- What happens if it goes wrong? Ship gets grounded.
- What happens if ship doesn’t follow instructions? Ship gets grounded.
- 1 in 30,000 grounded ships is considered acceptable for port.
- Scheduling issues can vary depending on port.
- Optimise function - maximise profit for company.
- Shipping companies want to have more say in their schedules. Currently port decides.
- Normally would use new system along side old system for 6 months, check new system generates good results.
Related to operations research.