Automation of resources for transport, transshipment, and storage of freight is an important development in modern logistics. Some automated logistic systems are already operational, like automated container terminals. These systems use only small numbers of logistic resources, transport distances are short, and human intervention still plays an important role. In other cases, such as automated factories, the flexibility of the system is very low, i.e. all degrees of freedom have been reduced in the design of the system. We study large-scale fully automated logistic systems. For such systems neither hierarchical control nor heterarchical control is suitable. In this research we advocate a holonic approach that combines both hierarchical and heterarchical control paradigms. Two different types of holons were developed. The first type controls logistic resources, and is called the LogisticResourceHolon. The second type is responsible for dealing with customer orders, and is called the LogisticOrderHolon. The first preliminary results showed that the holonic control proved to be safe, efficient, reliable, and able to deal with several types of disturbances. Further research will focus on how holonic control can deal with several types of disturbances, like AGV breakdowns.
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