EVOLVABLE PRODUCTION SYSTEMS : MECHATRONIC PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT WITH PROCESS-BASED DISTRIBUTED CONTROL

Current major roadmapping efforts have all clearly underlined that true industrial sustainability will require far higher levels of systems’ autonomy and adaptability. In accordance with these recommendations, the Evolvable Production Systems (EPS) has aimed at developing such technological solutions and support mechanisms. Since its inception in 2002 as a next generation of production systems, the concept is being further developed and tested to emerge as a production system paradigm. The essence of evolvability resides not only in the ability of system components to adapt to the changing conditions of operation, but also to assist in the evolution of these components in time such that processes may become self-evolvable, self-reconfigurable, self-tuning, self-diagnosing, etc. Characteristically, Evolvable systems have distributed control, and are composed of intelligent modules with embedded control. To assist the development and life cycle issues, a comprehensive methodological framework is being developed. A concerted effort is being exerted through European research projects in collaboration with European manufacturers, technology/equipment suppliers, and universities. After briefly stating the fundamental concepts of EPS, this paper presents current developments and applications.