Applicability of RFID and agent-based control for product identification in distributed production

With the exploding complexity of distributed production, current management concepts cannot feasibly maintain full control over work pieces in the plant. Product identification technologies such as RFID are a solution to retain control. Nevertheless they are only a piece in the puzzle to retrieve the desired information at shop floor level and superordinate levels like ERP systems. This paper analyses the suitability of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) in agent-based control applications to gain full control over all products and resources at shop floor level. Additionally, an implementation concept for RFID-based product control developed in the EU project PABADIS’PROMISE is presented; the project aims at installing a completely distributed agent-based production control system with full information control. 1