Decentralized Multi-Agent Production Control through Economic Model Bidding for Matrix Production Systems

Due to increasing demand for unique products, large variety in product portfolios and the associated rise in individualization, the efficient use of resources in traditional line production dwindles. One answer to these new challenges is the application of matrix-shaped layouts with multiple production cells, called Matrix Production Systems. The cycle time independence and redundancy of production cell capabilities within a Matrix Production System enable individual production paths per job for Flexible Mass Customisation. However, the increased degrees of freedom strengthen the need for reliable production control systems compared to traditional production systems such as line production. Beyond reliability a need for intelligent production within a smart factory in order to ensure goal-oriented production control under ever-changing manufacturing conditions can be ascertained. Learning-based methods can leverage condition-based reactions for goal-oriented production control. While centralized control performs well in single-objective situations, it is hard to achieve contradictory targets for individual products or resources. Hence, in order to master these challenges, a production control concept based on a decentralized multi-agent bidding system is presented. In this price-based model, individual production agents - jobs, production cells and transport system - interact based on an economic model and attempt to maximize monetary revenues. Evaluating the application of learning and priority-based control policies shows that decentralized multi-agent production control can outperform traditional approaches for certain control objectives. The introduction of decentralized multi-agent reinforcement learning systems is a starting point for further research in this area of intelligent production control within smart manufacturing

Didactic experiences involving mobile robotics having microfactory as context

In this paper an analysis of MicroFactory is carried out and the potential for generating a diversified set of didactic experiences based on it is evaluated. MicroFactory is a robotic competition based on a previously existing competition called Robot@Factory. Robot@Factory is a Portuguese robotic competition whose first edition was held in 2011 in Lisbon. The scenario of the competition simulates a factory which has two warehouses, and 8 processing machines. The flow of the materials inside the factory starts at the Incoming Warehouse and ends at the Outgoing Warehouse, eventually passing through one or more processing machines. The robots must collect, transport and position the materials along the process, having to self-localize and navigate while avoiding collisions with walls, obstacles and other robots. There is the option of following predefined tracks present on the floor to ease the navigation problem. Robot@Factory poses challenges like dynamic task scheduling, robot cooperation, trajectory planning, robot navigation with obstacle avoidance, robot self-localization and materials identification and manipulation. Related research contributes to improve AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicle systems) technology. Presently this competition is integrated in Festival Nacional de Robótica, a yearly event which attracts lots of public, contributing also to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) popularization. MicroFactory was conceived to be low-cost and easily implementable in a small space, be it a classroom or the school robotics club. The ground area of the factory scenario was reduced to approximately one ninth of its original value. The scenario materials were simplified – the floor is now an A0 printed sheet and the warehouses and machines dimensions are so that they can be 3D printed or made out of LEGOTM bricks; both machines and parts had active elements with LEDs and now they are passive. Besides the competition scenario it was also conceived an official robot for the competition. It’s a 3D printed robot, based on Arduino and cheap common electronic parts. The creation of this competition is part of a wider Open Source project, aiming to develop project-based collaborative didactic experiences involving robotics and low-cost 3D printed educational robots based on generic electronics to support those experiences. Currently efforts are being dedicated to the inclusion of more sensors in the competition robot, namely low-cost distance sensors and a weight sensor at the claws, the inclusion of different kinds of motors, the development of a new version of the robot incorporating a Raspberry Pi board, the development of a very precise robot localization system, and the conception of a diversified set of didactic experiences based on the MicroFactory competition. This article presents an analysis of MicroFactory and of its inherent challenges. Through this analysis it will be possible to identify topics that can be taught and learned while developing robots to participate in the competition, and to collect elements that will be very useful in the planning and implementation of didactic experiences that work those topics.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Technology Assessment and High-Speed Trains: facing the challenge of emergent digital society

The present PhD dissertation addresses the extension of selective environments of new technologies within the high-speed train technological system from business and regulations to the wider society. And, it argues the recognition of society as an actor in that system. Motivating it is the observed ever increase exposure of high-speed trains to public acceptance, caused by empowered society from fast ICT advancements. They refer to digitalization - the rise of social media and big data, combined with the widespread use of mobile technology - changing if not revolutionizing our understanding of product and service selection. Unprecedented societal demands, opening a new market segment, require new technologies to integrate with the emergent digital system. Moreover, societal actors became themselves innovators. Inevitable they have to become part of the value chain widening the collective of stakeholders. However, such raises the dilemma of promotion and control and adds complexity and uncertainty to the industry in deciding which technology to select. Statistical evidence shows that businesses are figuring out ways to embed societal actors in their value creation. In this dissertation, I demonstrate to the high-speed train industry how is it falling short in addressing societal embedding in their product creation and argue why requires improvement. Technology Assessment provides the approach for the orchestration of the necessary dialogue with societal actors for better anticipating potential development in the full system and for embedding the resulting technology options within. By exploiting it to the high-speed train industry innovation strategic management, the aim of my dissertation is, borrowing the words of Douglas K. R. Robinson, to “arrive to a better informed designs of future working worlds, which are structured by theory while empirically well grounded, so they are usable by decision makers”. With this work, I expect to contribute to the new governance structure for research and development set buy the railway industry SHIFT2RAIL (Joint Undertaking for Rail Research and Innovation)

Towards an integrated technology management across the rail supply chain extended to society: building the case study on high-speed trains

The present paper was prepared for the course “Project III”, with the supervision of Prof. António Moniz, reporting on the author speaking notes at the Winter School on Technology Assessment, 6-7 December 2010, as part of the Doctoral Programme on Technology Assessment at FCT-UNL.The railway industry is pushing for market uptake of research for better and competitive products and services as resulted from the workshop of the European Railway Advisory Council held this year 2010. What seems less considered by the industry concerns is however the new paradigm resulting from the financial crisis from 2008 and, as important, the increasing exposure to social movements (this last one the focus of my research). In support, the present paper proposes to develop a scientific based methodology driven from technology assessment (TA) that manages research results within society. In a first instance such exercise should be limited to a specific technology in railways as it can be the High Speed (HS) train and the technologies it embeds. The high-speed trains integrate the most advanced technologies in the sector and represent billions of Euros of public investment, greater than for conventional lines. The expected impacts are to integrate the technology effort of all parties extended to society from early stage of design to latter market entry. This increases the rail industry competitiveness, enhances innovative technologies, and improves predictability of future social conditions while decrease risks of market failure.António Brandão Moniz (FCT-UNL) e Rosário Macário (IST-UTL

Multi Agent Systems in Logistics: A Literature and State-of-the-art Review

Based on a literature survey, we aim to answer our main question: “How should we plan and execute logistics in supply chains that aim to meet today’s requirements, and how can we support such planning and execution using IT?†Today’s requirements in supply chains include inter-organizational collaboration and more responsive and tailored supply to meet specific demand. Enterprise systems fall short in meeting these requirements The focus of planning and execution systems should move towards an inter-enterprise and event-driven mode. Inter-organizational systems may support planning going from supporting information exchange and henceforth enable synchronized planning within the organizations towards the capability to do network planning based on available information throughout the network. We provide a framework for planning systems, constituting a rich landscape of possible configurations, where the centralized and fully decentralized approaches are two extremes. We define and discuss agent based systems and in particular multi agent systems (MAS). We emphasize the issue of the role of MAS coordination architectures, and then explain that transportation is, next to production, an important domain in which MAS can and actually are applied. However, implementation is not widespread and some implementation issues are explored. In this manner, we conclude that planning problems in transportation have characteristics that comply with the specific capabilities of agent systems. In particular, these systems are capable to deal with inter-organizational and event-driven planning settings, hence meeting today’s requirements in supply chain planning and execution.supply chain;MAS;multi agent systems

Towards an integrated technology management across the rail supply chain extended to society: building the case study on high-speed trains

The present paper was prepared for the course “Project III”, with the supervision of Prof. António Moniz, reporting on the author speaking notes at the Winter School on Technology Assessment, 6-7 December 2010, as part of the Doctoral Programme on Technology Assessment at FCT-UNL.The railway industry is pushing for market uptake of research for better and competitive products and services as resulted from the workshop of the European Railway Advisory Council held this year 2010. What seems less considered by the industry concerns is however the new paradigm resulting from the financial crisis from 2008 and, as important, the increasing exposure to social movements (this last one the focus of my research). In support, the present paper proposes to develop a scientific based methodology driven from technology assessment (TA) that manages research results within society. In a first instance such exercise should be limited to a specific technology in railways as it can be the High Speed (HS) train and the technologies it embeds. The high-speed trains integrate the most advanced technologies in the sector and represent billions of Euros of public investment, greater than for conventional lines. The expected impacts are to integrate the technology effort of all parties extended to society from early stage of design to latter market entry. This increases the rail industry competitiveness, enhances innovative technologies, and improves predictability of future social conditions while decrease risks of market failure.António Brandão Moniz (FCT-UNL) e Rosário Macário (IST-UTL

Visions on high-speed trains: a methodological analysis

Based on the report for the unit “Foresight Analysis Methods” of the PhD program on Technology Assessment in 2013. This unit was supervised by Prof. António Moniz. The paper had meanwhile contributions from the supervisor and Dr. Douglas Robinson.Future Oriented Technology Analysis (FTA) has been visible in railway planning since 2001. Over a dozen reports have been produced in the past thirteen years, the majority being descriptive endogenous technocentric visions. They have played a role in the revitalization of the sector, predominantly relating to collective alignments and interdependencies in choice and form of the technological path the various stakeholders’ follow to achieve policy goals. A striking example is the case of ERRAC visions, where strategic agendas and roadmaps greatly impacted the high-speed train technology transition from the second to the third generation of vehicles. However, today’s socio-economic events have revealed the limitations of previously applied FTA fall short for railways. In particular, there is an inability to bridge technocentric visions with the societal challenges that are becoming increasingly prominent on the policy agenda. To fill this FTA-need in railways it is here proposed a role for constructive technology assessment as bridging function towards achieving success in the transition to a next generation of high-speed trains. The findings here presented result from the analysis of reports and interviews with their commissioning institutions and drafters.António Brandão Moniz, Douglas Robinso

Makespan Minimization of Machines and Automated Guided Vehicles Schedule Using Binary Particle Swarm Optimization

An efficient and optimized Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) operation plays a critical role in improving the performance of a Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS). Among the main elements in the implementation of AGV is task scheduling. This is due to the fact that efficient scheduling would enable the increment of productivity and reducing delivery cost whilst optimally utilizes the entire fleet. In this research, Binary Particle Swarm Optimization (BPSO) is used to optimize simultaneous machines and AGVs scheduling process with makespan minimization function. It is proven that the method is capable to provide better solution compared to others