Autonomous Cooperative Factory Control

Abstract

In a highly flexible manufacturing line, the ability of the control system to react to and predict changes will ultimately determine the productivity of that line. This paper describes an Autonomous Cooperative System (ACS) for flexibly control a manufacturing line. The system allows each section of the line to have autonomy for controlling the operations of the underlying physical equipment. Autonomous decisions are carried out while the overall operations are optimized through cooperation among the controlled sections. ACS provides the ability to compensate for product changes, equipment wear and equipment failure. ACS was applied to a steel-rod production line. The operation of the line was observed during conditions of process and product changes. The results show how ACS reduced the impact of change and increased the productivity and flexibility of the line.