ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an overview of some cutting-edge techniques in exploiting the structure of a resource allocation system (RAS) model of an FMS for deadlock prevention, from the perspective of using Petri nets (PN) as modelling paradigm. It presents the basic fundamentals regarding the abstraction and modelling of FMSs perceived as RASs through PN along with a review of some reference models and analysis results. The use of PN in RASs is an active research field devoted to define and exploit different subclasses of PN allowing to model the widest set of RASs. Traditionally, PN-based deadlock prevention techniques for RASs have been based on the exploitation of the siphon as a structural element that captures the causal essence of a deadlock through its emptying. The chapter presents the techniques of deadlock prevention in AGV systems for the construction of deadlock-free minimal adaptive routing algorithms.
