Control Architecture for Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems: the PABADIS'PROMISE approach

Abstract

This paper discusses the design and the development of a control architecture for reconfigurable manufacturing systems. It presents the approach proposed by the PABADIS' PROMISE European research project which targets the issues of reconfigurability, flexibility, and efficiency in the context of the interaction among the three levels of the control pyramid (ERP, MES, Field). The key feature of the overall control architecture is a distributed organization based on agent technology and on a specific ontology for manufacturing systems.