Erlang-based control implementation for a holonic manufacturing cell

Abstract

Holonic control is generally used in reconfigurable manufacturing systems since the modularity of holonic control holds the promise of easier reconfiguration, reduction in complexity and cost, along with increased maintainability and reliability. As an alternative to the commonly used agent-based approach, this paper presents an Erlang-based holon internal architecture and implementation methodology that exploits Erlang’s capabilities. The paper shows that Erlang is well suited to the requirements of holonic and reconfigurable systems – due to strong modularity, scalability, customisability, maintainability and robustness characteristics.