Knowledge Based Modules for Adaptive Distributed Control Systems

Abstract

Modern automation systems are asked to provide a step change toward flexibility and reconfigurability to cope with increasing demand for fast changing and highly fragmented production-which is more and more characterising the manufacturing sector. This reflects in the transition from traditional hierarchical and centralised control architecture to adaptive distributed control systems, being the latter capable of exploiting also knowledge-based strategies toward collaborating behaviours. The chapter intends to investigate such topics, by outlining major challenges and proposing a possible approach toward their solution, founded on autonomous, self-declaring, knowledge-based and heterarchically collaborating control modules. The benefits of the proposed approach are discussed and demonstrated in the field of re-manufacturing of electronic components, with specific reference to a pilot plant for the integrated End-Of-Life management of mechatronic products. 4.1 Scientific and Industrial Motivations Since several years, the manufacturing industry has been facing a number of technological and production challenges related to the increasing variability of mix and demand of products driven by a short product life cycle. Nevertheless, the growing industrial demand for increased levels of reconfigurability-having impact both in production process automation, supervision and data collection and aggregation systems-is not properly fulfilled, mainly due to the lack of widely accepted solutions

The Italian Flagship Project: Factories of the Future

“…Finally, this very book represents a contribution to the dissemination of the whole flagship project. The following chapters will present in details the scientific and industrial results of the 18 research projects (see Tables 1.6 and 1.7) [84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95][96][97][98][99][100][101]. Grounding on the experience and results of the flagship project, the final two chapters of this book present an outlook on future manufacturing research by proposing missions aimed at fostering growth and innovation [102] and discussing research infrastructures and funding mechanisms [27].…”