A MODEL-BASED CONTROL SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE FOR THE WEBDISTRIBUTED SIMULATION AND OPERATION OF ASSEMBLY LINES

摘要

Automated assembly lines for highly innovative and individualizedrnproducts lead to advanced requirements for flexibilityrnand scalability. Especially the consistent transfer andrnreuse of processes require the implementation of modern,rnscalable control systems in order to be prepared for productrnchanges, changes of the underlying automation hardware orrnthe control of decentralized installations of assembly lines.rnWe propose a model-based control system architecture thatrnallows for the web distributed simulation and operation ofrnsuch assembly lines. Its flexibility and scalability is basedrnon a multi-agent system connected to an active communicationrnhub. The core of the hub consists of an object-orientedrndatabase keeping the communication channels and protocols,rnthe control strategies and a 3D simulation model ofrnthe assembly line. This contribution presents conceptualrnand technical details on the control system architecture’srnability to monitor, control, simulate and operate decentralizedrninstallations of assembly lines, e.g. via web.