A multiagent framework for industrial robotic applications

The paper presents a novel approach toward modeling and governing complex system behavior in flexible and adaptive robotic assembly systems. A fully distributed multiagent approach is implemented for autonomous control. The system is defined at multiple levels of granularity where agents provide services in respect to the current global goal. A decentralized multiagent approach is adopted for reasons of flexibility and fault tolerance embedded in the design phase. To prove the concept a robotic application for intelligent assembly is presented and discussed. It consists of multiple industrial robots equipped with force/torque sensors, 2D and 3D vision systems, automatic tool changers and other sensors and actuators. Through fusion of sensory input and mutual communication agents construct and negotiate an assembly plan and reconfigure respectively. © 2011 Published by Elsevier B.V.