This paper intends to discuss self-organisation and learning capabilities in autonomous and cooperative holons that are part of a holonic manufacturing control system. These capabilities will support the dynamic adaptation of the manufacturing control to the manufacturing evolution and emergency, specially the agile reaction to unexpected disturbances.

This paper provides an exploration of the concept and content of Agile Manufacturing. It describes the nature of the content of AM and synthesises the literature to propose a comprehensive definition of purpose and process. Real Agile Manufacturing (RAM) is viewed as a strategic process; it is about surviving and prospering in the competitive environment of continuous and unpredictable change b...

This paper summarizes results of a five-year, multidisciplinary, university-industry collaborative effort investigating design issues in agile manufacturing. The focus of this project is specifically on light mechanical assembly, with the demand that new assembly tasks be implementable quickly, economically, and effectively. Key to achieving these goals is the ease of equipment and software reu...

This paper introduces a design for agile manufacturing workcells intended for light mechanical assembly of products made from similar components (i.e. parts families). We define agile manufacturing as the ability to accomplish rapid changeover from the assembly of one product to the assembly of another product. Rapid hardware changeover is made possible through the use of robots, flexible part ...

* Department of Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics † Department of Computer Engineering and Science ‡ Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering ABSTRACT This paper describes advances in developing key software, sensing/control, and parts-handling technologies enabling robust operation of an agile manufacturing workcell. In particular, we discuss: a modular software architecture...

Agile development methods and their associated practices have become well-accepted within industry, and the success of projects using these methods is higher than traditional methods [1]. However, the optimal environmental parameters that suggest a fit between a project’s requirements and needed outcomes, and the use of agile methods is still a matter requiring further research. This is due to ...

Over a decade ago, the manufacturing industry determined it needed to be more agile to thrive and prosper in a changing, nonlinear, uncertain and unpredictable business environment. Recently, the software engineering community has come to the same realization. A group of software methodologists has created a set of software development processes, termed agile methodologies that have been specif...