Reconfigurable Equiplets Operating System A Hybrid Architecture to Combine Flexibility and Performance for Manufacturing

Abstract

Author supplied: Abstract—The growing importance and impact of new technologies\nare changing many industries. This effect is especially\nnoticeable in the manufacturing industry. This paper explores a\npractical implementation of a hybrid architecture for the newest\ngeneration of manufacturing systems. The papers starts with\na proposition that envisions reconfigurable systems that work\ntogether autonomously to create Manufacturing as a Service\n(MaaS). It introduces a number of problems in this area and\nshows the requirements for an architecture that can be the\nmain research platform to solve a number of these problems,\nincluding the need for safe and flexible system behaviour and the\nability to reconfigure with limited interference to other systems\nwithin the manufacturing environment. The paper highlights\nthe infrastructure and architecture itself that can support the\nrequirements to solve the mentioned problems in the future. A\nconcept system named Grid Manufacturing is then introduced\nthat shows both the hardware and software systems to handle\nthe challenges. The paper then moves towards the design of\nthe architecture and introduces all systems involved, including\nthe specific hardware platforms that will be controlled by the\nsoftware platform called REXOS (Reconfigurable EQuipletS\nOperating System). The design choices are provided that show\nwhy it has become a hybrid platform that uses Java Agent\nDevelopment Framework (JADE) and Robot Operating System\n(ROS). Finally, to validate REXOS, the performance is measured\nand discussed, which shows that REXOS can be used as a\npractical basis for more specific research for robust autonomous\nreconfigurable systems and application in industry 4.0. This\npaper shows practical examples of how to successfully combine\nseveral technologies that are meant to lead to a faster adoption\nand a better business case for autonomous and reconfigurable\nsystems in industry.