Distributed Intelligent Sensing and Control for Manufacturing Automation

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To remain competitive in today's global market, manufacturers require systems that are capable of quickly responding to change while maintaining stable and efficient operation. Increasingly, the manufacturing control system is viewed as being central to achieving this goal. The main barriers to success in this area however, result from the combination of increasingly stringent customer requirements (e.g., high quality, customizable, low-cost products that can be delivered quickly) and inherent manufacturing system complexity (i.e., these systems are, by nature, distributed, concurrent and stochastic). Although manufacturing technology has become increasingly sophisticated to deal with these issues (e.g., through advanced robotics and computer numerical control), without adequate control, the result is often a collection of "islands of automation" that lack the necessary integration for truly responsive behavior. As a result, new control software and hardware approaches are required to realize a system that is flexible (i.e., capable of reconfiguration) and responsive (i.e., capable of recovering from disturbances). This research focuses on a new approach to real time manufacturing control, intended to reduce the barriers imposed on the flexibility and responsiveness of manufacturing systems by current control technology. More specifically, this proposal builds on the applicant's previous work in this area with the specific aim of formalizing the design process for real time distributed control reconfiguration management and safety management. The overall aim of this research is to help Canadian manufacturers remain competitive in today's global market by enabling them to respond quickly to change while maintaining stable system operation and efficient use of available resources.