Recent developments and future trends of industrial agents

The agent technology provides a new way to design and engineer control solutions based on the decentralization of control over distributed structures, addressing the current requirements for modern control systems in industrial domains. This paper presents the current situation of the development and deployment of agent technology, discussing the initiatives and the current trends faced for a wider dissemination and industrial adoption, based on the work that is being carried out by the IEEE IES Technical Committee on Industrial Agents

Deployment of an Distributed Strategic Material Flow Control for Automated Material Flow Systems Consisting of Autonomous Modules

The modularisation of hardware and software is one approach to handle the demand for increasing flexibility and changeability of automated material flow systems that are, for example, utilised in flexible production systems. In such automated material flow systems, autonomous modules communicate with each other to coordinate and execute transport tasks. In this paper a strategic material flow control is introduced, which is distributed on several modules realised with a multi-agent system. The strategic material flow control agent coordinates transport tasks with advanced logistical requirements, such as sequencing. A transport task states for a transport unit the system source and sink together with arrival criteria at the sink, e.g. sequence In order to fulfil the arrival criteria the strategic material flow agent selects additional destinations within the automated material flow system to buffer a transport unit. For the selection of suitable buffer modules, several strategies are proposed and evaluated in a simulation study

Improving transferability between different engineering stages in the development of automated material flow modules

For improving flexibility and robustness of the engineering of automated production systems (aPS) in case of extending, reducing or modifying parts, several approaches propose an encapsulation and clustering of related functions, e.g. from the electrical, mechanical or software engineering, based on a modular architecture. Considering the development of these modules, there are different stages, e.g. module planning or functional engineering, which have to be completed. A reference model that addresses the different stages for the engineering of aPS is proposed by AutomationML. Due to these different stages and the integration of several engineering disciplines, e.g. mechanical, electrical/electronic or software engineering, information not limited to one discipline are stored redundantly increasing the effort to transfer information and the risk of inconsistency. Although, data formats for the storage and exchange of plant engineering information exist, e.g. AutomationML, fixed domain specific structures and relations of the information, e.g. for automated material flow systems (aMFS), are missing. This paper presents the integration of a meta model into the development of modules for aMFS to improve the transferability and consistency of information between the different engineering stages and the increasing level of detail from the coarse-grained plant planning to the fine-grained functional engineering.Comment: 11 pages, https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/7499821

Design, Application and Evaluation of a Multi Agent System in the Logistics Domain

The increasing demand for flexibility of automated production systems also affects the automated material flow systems (aMFS) they contain and demands reconfigurable systems. However, the centralized control concept usually applied in aMFS hinders an easy adaptation, as the entire control software has to be re-tested, when manually changing sub-parts of the control. As adaption and subsequent testing are a time-consuming task, concepts for splitting the control from one centralized to multiple, decentralized control nodes are required. Therefore, this paper presents a holistic agent-based control concept for aMFS, whereby the system is divided into so-called automated material flow modules (aMFM), each being controlled by a dedicated module agent. The concept allows the reconfiguration of aMFS, consisting of heterogeneous, stationary aMFM, during runtime. Furthermore, it includes aspects such as uniform agent knowledge bases through metamodel-based development, a communication ontology considering different information types and properties, strategic route optimization in decentralized control architecture and a visualization concept to make decisions of the module agents comprehensible to operators and maintenance staff. The evaluation of the concept is performed by means of material flow simulations as well as a prototypical implementation on a lab-sized demonstrator.Comment: 13 pages, https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9042827

Padrões de desenho em soluções programadas de automação flexível

Tese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Mecânica (Automação). Universidade do Porto. Faculdade de Engenharia. 201

Software framework for the development of context-aware reconfigurable systems

In this project we propose a new software framework for the development of context-aware and secure controlling software of distributed reconfigurable systems. Context-awareness is a key feature allowing the adaptation of systems behaviour according to the changing environment. We introduce a new definition of the term “context” for reconfigurable systems then we define a new context modelling and reasoning approach. Afterwards, we define a meta-model of context-aware reconfigurable applications that paves the way to the proposed framework. The proposed framework has a three-layer architecture: reconfiguration, context control, and services layer, where each layer has its well-defined role. We define also a new secure conversation protocol between distributed trustless parts based on the blockchain technology as well as the elliptic curve cryptography. To get better correctness and deployment guarantees of applications models in early development stages, we propose a new UML profile called GR-UML to add new semantics allowing the modelling of probabilistic scenarios running under memory and energy constraints, then we propose a methodology using transformations between the GR-UML, the GR-TNCES Petri nets formalism, and the IEC 61499 function blocks. A software tool implementing the methodology concepts is developed. To show the suitability of the mentioned contributions two case studies (baggage handling system and microgrids) are considered.In diesem Projekt schlagen wir ein Framework für die Entwicklung von kontextbewussten, sicheren Anwendungen von verteilten rekonfigurierbaren Systemen vor. Kontextbewusstheit ist eine Schlüsseleigenschaft, die die Anpassung des Systemverhaltens an die sich ändernde Umgebung ermöglicht. Wir führen eine Definition des Begriffs ``Kontext" für rekonfigurierbare Systeme ein und definieren dann einen Kontextmodellierungs- und Reasoning-Ansatz. Danach definieren wir ein Metamodell für kontextbewusste rekonfigurierbare Anwendungen, das den Weg zum vorgeschlagenen Framework ebnet. Das Framework hat eine dreischichtige Architektur: Rekonfigurations-, Kontextkontroll- und Dienste-Schicht, wobei jede Schicht ihre wohldefinierte Rolle hat. Wir definieren auch ein sicheres Konversationsprotokoll zwischen verteilten Teilen, das auf der Blockchain-Technologie sowie der elliptischen Kurven-Kryptographie basiert. Um bessere Korrektheits- und Einsatzgarantien für Anwendungsmodelle zu erhalten, schlagen wir ein UML-Profil namens GR-UML vor, um Semantik umzufassen, die die Modellierung probabilistischer Szenarien unter Speicher- und Energiebeschränkungen ermöglicht. Dann schlagen wir eine Methodik vor, die Transformationen zwischen GR-UML, dem GR-TNCES-Petrinetz-Formalismus und den IEC 61499-Funktionsblöcken verwendet. Es wird ein Software entwickelt, das die Konzepte der Methodik implementiert. Um die Eignung der genannten Beiträge zu zeigen, werden zwei Fallstudien betrachtet

Worker-robot cooperation and integration into the manufacturing workcell via the holonic control architecture

Cooperative manufacturing is a new field of research, which addresses new challenges beyond the physical safety of the worker. Those new challenges appear due to the need to connect the worker and the cobot from the informatics point of view in one cooperative workcell. This requires developing an appropriate manufacturing control system, which fits the nature of both the worker and the cobot. Furthermore, the manufacturing control system must be able to understand the production variations, to guide the cooperation between worker and the cobot and adapt with the production variations.Die kooperative Fertigung ist ein neues Forschungsgebiet, das sich neuen Herausforderungen stellt. Diese neuen Herausforderungen ergeben sich aus der Notwendigkeit, den Arbeiter und den Cobot aus der Sicht der Informatik in einem kooperativen Arbeitsplatz zu verbinden. Dies erfordert die Entwicklung eines geeigneten Produktionskontrollsystems, das sowohl der Natur des Arbeiters als auch der des Cobots entspricht. Darüber hinaus muss die Fertigungssteuerung in der Lage sein, die Produktionsschwankungen zu verstehen, um die Zusammenarbeit zwischen Arbeiter und Cobot zu steuern

Multi-Agent Modelling of Industrial Cyber-Physical Systems for IEC 61499 Based Distributed Intelligent Automation

Traditional industrial automation systems developed under IEC 61131-3 in centralized architectures are statically programmed with determined procedures to perform predefined tasks in structured environments. Major challenges are that these systems designed under traditional engineering techniques and running on legacy automation platforms are unable to automatically discover alternative solutions, flexibly coordinate reconfigurable modules, and actively deploy corresponding functions, to quickly respond to frequent changes and intelligently adapt to evolving requirements in dynamic environments. The core objective of this research is to explore the design of multi-layer automation architectures to enable real-time adaptation at the device level and run-time intelligence throughout the whole system under a well-integrated modelling framework. Central to this goal is the research on the integration of multi-agent modelling and IEC 61499 function block modelling to form a new automation infrastructure for industrial cyber-physical systems. Multi-agent modelling uses autonomous and cooperative agents to achieve run-time intelligence in system design and module reconfiguration. IEC 61499 function block modelling applies object-oriented and event-driven function blocks to realize real-time adaption of automation logic and control algorithms. In this thesis, the design focuses on a two-layer self-manageable architecture modelling: a) the high-level cyber module designed as multi-agent computing model consisting of Monitoring Agent, Analysis Agent, Self-Learning Agent, Planning Agent, Execution Agent, and Knowledge Agent; and b) the low-level physical module designed as agent-embedded IEC 61499 function block model with Self-Manageable Service Execution Agent, Self-Configuration Agent, Self-Healing Agent, Self-Optimization Agent, and Self-Protection Agent. The design results in a new computing module for high-level multi-agent based automation architectures and a new design pattern for low-level function block modelled control solutions. The architecture modelling framework is demonstrated through various tests on the multi-agent simulation model developed in the agent modelling environment NetLogo and the experimental testbed designed on the Jetson Nano and Raspberry Pi platforms. The performance evaluation of regular execution time and adaptation time in two typical conditions for systems designed under three different architectures are also analyzed. The results demonstrate the ability of the proposed architecture to respond to major challenges in Industry 4.0

The programmable logic controller : its prehistory, emergence and application

Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) are widely used devices controlling industrial machines and processes and many other diverse applications, requiring primarily, combinatorial logic and sequential control. The PLC is a hidden technology, little known by the general public and overlooked in academic historical studies of technology. The research reported in this thesis aims to address this lack of awareness. The thesis explores the development of sequential and combinatorial logic control technologies, the emergence of the PLC, its subsequent development and its industrial applications. Patents and first- hand accounts and experiences from senior industrial engineers in a number of diverse manufacturing industries have been used as the primary research sources since, as a hidden technology, academic historical accounts are sparse. This approach illustrates, through using the PLC as an example, a potential method of studying other, unrelated hidden technologies. The research has revealed the influence of geography, industrial settings and earlier engineering practices on the design, selection and application of PLC control technologies, and comments on the how these influences define specific communities of practice