Intelligent and Flexible Manufacturing Product Line Supported by Agents and Wireless Sensor and Actuator Network

The demand for highly decentralized control in factory automation is based on the current needs for flexibility and scalability in the production and assembly in product lines. On one hand, intelligent manufacturing systems, presenting holonic and multi-agent based approaches address these needs, providing the necessary decentralization in the manufacturing control. On the other hand, flexibility and scalability are also related to the disposition of the sensors and actuators devices in the factories, and how easily they can be displaced, introduced and reorganized. This second aspect is addressed by diminishing the needs for cabling to connect these devices, which is possible by using wireless connections instead. This paper explores these two aspects, by studying a flexible product line able to assemble different types of products in a production line by means of a multi-agent approach that drives the products through production units composed of a wireless sensor and actuator network, according to the specification of the products to be assembled. The feasibility of this approach is studied in the performed experiments by assessing timing properties of the proposed technique. This implies in how efficient is the combination of the multi-agent based factory control system with a wireless communication infrastructure in terms of timing.