Control techniques for a holonic manufacturing platform with multiple robots

Abstract

The changes in the market demand and the environmental pressures generate the need for adaptation of the manufacturing systems to an ever-increasing rhythm. The greater variety of products, the possible large fluctuations in demand, the shorter lifecycle of the products expressed by a higher dynamics of introduction of new products, and the increased customer expectations in terms of quality and delivery time are the challenges that manufacturing companies have to deal with, in order to remain competitive and survive in the market. All modern automated manufacturing systems need a material-handling system capable of moving the materials efficiently throughout the entire production process. The holonic concept has two important properties which make this a suitable modelling tool for use in the design of both manufacturing and material-handling systems. First, autonomy grants holons the right to make decisions without consulting any supervising entity. Second, cooperation permits holons to communicate with other peer holons to develop mutually acceptable plans and execute them. In this respect, the article presents a technique for controlling the resources (material handling holons) in a holonic manufacturing platform with multiple robots.