Adding Extra Constraints to an Open Platform for Industrial

Acculogic develops state-of-the-art testers for short-batch electronic circuit boards (ECBs). The order in which the required tests are performed affects the amount of shuttle and probe movements required between the tests, and this affects the overall efficiency of the test procedure. Unique characteristics of the problem (e.g. the ability to move one set of probes to the next test location while another set of probes is performing a test) make the problem too large and too complex to be solved with most traditional combinatorial optimization and heuristic search techniques (e.g. integer programming and genetic algorithms). Supporting the integration of both artificial intelligence-based and mathematical-based optimization techniques, a unique optimization architecture derived from "Asynchronous Teams" has been developed. The open nature of this optimization platform allows complex industrial constraints to be addressed through the addition of simpler modular components.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Stephen Chen

Student:

David Howden

Partner:

Acculogic Inc.

Discipline:

Computer science

Sector:

Information and communications technologies

University:

York University