The Distributed Systems Research Department (8920), part of the 8900 Distributed Information Systems Center, is collaborating with researchers at the Stanford University Center for Design Research (CDR) and the University of California at Berkeley Mechanical Engineering Department to develop an agent architecture to support agile manufacturing in the IMTL.

An exciting joint agent research project between Stanford CDR and IMTL manufacturing facility is beginning to take shape. The agents will be developed using the Java agent template, developed by Rob Frost at CDR. Visit the CDR SIAM page for additional information.

A postscript copy of one of our research papers, given at the SPIE Proceedings of Modeling, Simulation, and Control Technologies for Manufacturing, October 1995, entitled "An Autonomous Agent for On-Machine Acceptance of Machined Components", can be found here.

Intelligent software agents are the foundation for a software information infrastructure that enables the integration of heterogeneous business, engineering, and manufacturing software components that can be distributed either within a corporation or across corporate bounds. Software agents can communicate with other software agents and with humans, such that information is presented in a format appropriate to each.

A CORBA-based manufacturing environment has been developed for use in a manufacturing cell at Sandia National Laboratories. This software architecture integrates the IMTL manufacturing cell, such that each physical device is presented by a distributed CORBA object. The Java agent template will be used to develop network agents which can communicate to the CORBA manufacturing objects.

Necessary information technologies to support an agent architecture for manufacturing include distributed object technologies, networks and communication protocols, security and authentication, integrated data and knowledge bases, and human and agent interfaces.

Distributed Objects for Manufacturing

Java CORBA Integration Strategies

Agent Architecture Overview

Agent Architecture Implementation

Related Web Sites in Agent-Based Systems and Manufacturing

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