Agent-based Simulation of a Shop Floor Controller Using Hybrid Communication Protocols

Agents are autonomous and computational entities that perceive their environment through sensors and act upon their environment through effectors. Application of agents in simulation of manufacturing system helps in modelling the concurrent behaving entities close to the real system. A manufacturing agent should be modelled to impart the required functionality to the manufacturing entity. As agents are autonomous, they run asynchronously and need to be synchronized with the simulation clock for simulating the manufacturing system. This paper deals with the synchronization of manufacturing agents, working of the agent-based simulator of a shop floor controller for a sample manufacturing system and the hybrid communication protocols involved during simulation. The manufacturing agents were built on JADETM platform, which is a leading multi agent development framework that helps in developing FIPA compliant agent-based systems. Agent-based modelling and simulation of entities in the manufacturing system provides flexibility for real-time decision making. (Received in June 2007, accepted in August 2007. This paper was with the authors 1 month for 1 revision.)