Botway Menus Dashboard Job Queue - ResgreenGroup/Botway-Documentation GitHub Wiki

Current Location: Home->Botway Menus->Dashboard->Job Queue

BotWay may display multiple Job Queues. Each queue can be filled with jobs that will be dispensed at each queue's stations (tags associated with a particular queue). A BotWay Job is a request for a Robot to begin a specified Route. Job queues allow BotWay to handle requests from multiple sources and distribute robots to meet the demands placed on the system.

Jobs are created in the Buttons dialogue window when a "Job Add" type button is made. These buttons can be associated with physical peripheral devices or virtual devices. When BotWay receives a signal from one of the "Job Add" type devices, it creates a job and places it in the button's target queue. BotWay will assign the job to the first available robot. A robot is considered available when it arrives at a station associated with the queue, it is issued a hold-type command at that station, and it is not currently performing a job. Furthermore, queues are assigned a list type when they are created which determines how BotWay looks through its stations to distribute jobs. When an available robot is assigned a job, it has the option of departing immediately if the start state of the job is set to "Active" or waiting if the job start state was set to "Staged." When a robot has a staged job, its route will change but it will not go yet; staged robots require a separate "Go" command, usually supplied by a peripheral device. This allows for loading of LHFs or other tasks between job assignment and departure.

There are 3 different Job Types: Concurrent, Consecutive or Exclusive. Concurrent jobs may be run simultaneously. Consecutive jobs will wait for the previous job to complete before starting a new Consecutive job. Exclusive jobs allow only one Exclusive job, per Route, to be queued at a time.

Each job is configured with an end tag and end route. When the robot reaches the end tag while on the end route, it signals the end of the job. A job's status at end can be configured to be Completed or Staged. If Status at End = "Completed", the job will complete when the Robot reaches the end tag/route. If the Status at End = "Staged" the job status will change to "Staged" when the Robot reaches the end tag/route. In this case, the job is not completed until a completor button is pressed. This is used in cases where an secondary process (such as a fork truck pickup/drop-off) is needed before the job can be finished.

Image: Job Queues

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BotWay uses a Job queue to automatically assign Jobs to available Robots without manual input from an operator. A group of tags are set up as stations within a queue. Any robot that arrives at a station may take the next job if it is available. Jobs can be added to a queue by using the "add" button in the queue's toolbar or by using a BotWay Button device that can be configured to add a job to a queue when pressed. Buttons and can be configured to add jobs to a queue in the "Edit Buttons" window: Click Here to visit the Buttons page for more information on how to configure a button to add a job.

• Creating a job using the "Buttons" dialog window
  The "Add" button on the job queue will only work if a job has been defined in the "buttons" dialog section first. Log in as Admin, open edit mode and click the "buttons" option. Then, create a new button with the type set to "Job Add." It should be the default button. Fill out the fields required by the dialog window to create the new job, then save changes and exit edit mode. Now, when clicking the "Add" button in the job queue, A dialog window will appear that allows the user to choose one job type out of all the premade jobs from the job-add buttons.

• Elements of the Job Queue Display

  • Toolbar
    • Add button: opens a menu that allows for addition of jobs to the queue. Operator may choose job type and number of jobs only.
    • Remove Button: Deletes jobs from the queue. The user must select a job or jobs and then press this button to do so.
    • Status: when a job in the queue is selected, allows the operator to change the job status to QUEUED, ACTIVE, STAGED, or COMPLETE.
    • Set Priority Button: when a job in the queue is selected, moves job to the top of the queue, meaning it will be the next one taken.
    • Pause/Paused: halts disbursement of jobs from the queue when pressed and changes to "Paused." When pressed again, BotWay resumes distribution of jobs and changes the button text back to "Pause."
  • Job List: displays up to nine columns based on how wide the queue is made
    • ID: the identification number assigned to the job.
    • Status: the current condition of the job.
    • Type: How inclusive the job is. Can be Concurrent, Consecutive, or Exclusive.
    • Start route: what the route of the robot accepting the job is changed to.
    • Start tag: the tag where the job is taken.
    • End route: the route the robot is taking when it reaches the end tag.
    • End tag: the tag where the job is changed to complete.
    • Vehicle name.
    • Note: contains a note that can be configured for any job

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