"Modeling and Development of Stable, Distributed Real-Time Control Algorithms for Scheduling Flexible Manufacturing/ Assembly/Disassembly Systems"

新一代柔性制造/装配/拆卸系统的特点是许多实体之间存在复杂的交互作用。有几种机器，有些是柔性的，还有几种零件类型，需要在许多机器上按预先指定的顺序进行注意。安装时间涉及在机器上从一个部件类型的生产运行切换到另一个部件类型的生产运行。当零件在机器之间移动时，也会导致运输延误。为各种零件类型设置所需的生产水平，系统由参数控制，如零件在机器上的加工时间。由于产量、质量控制和机器故障，还有变幻莫测的不确定性。我们如何安排这些系统的运行，以便有效地进行所需的生产？在所提出的研究中，PI显示了开发高效实时执行的调度算法的理论基础的开始。这些算法可以以分布式方式实现，并且在机器上的部件积压得到控制的意义上是稳定的。他的方法的要素是研究这类系统的动力学，并使用反馈和闭环调节来控制调度。

New generations of flexible manufacturing/assembly/disassembly systems feature a complex interaction of many entities. There are several machines, some flexible, and several part-types which require attention at many machines, in a prespecified order. Set up times are involved in switching from a production run of one part-type to another at a machine. Parts also incur transportation delays when moving from machine to machine. Desired production levels are set for the various part-types, and the system is governed by parameters such as the processing time for a part at a machine. There are also the vagaries of uncertainty due to yield, quality control and machine failures. How do we schedule the operation of such systems, so as to efficiently carry out the desired production? In the proposed research, the PI shows the beginnings of a theoretical foundation for developing scheduling algorithms which perform efficiently in real time. These algorithms can be implemented in a distributed fashion, and are stable in the sense that backlogs of parts at the machine are kept under control. The ingredients of his approach are to study the dynamics of such systems and use feedback and closed-loop regulation to control scheduling.