Distributed Intelligent Sensing and Control for Manufacturing Automation

为了在当今的全球市场上保持竞争力，制造商需要能够对变化做出快速反应的系统，同时保持稳定和高效的运行。越来越多的人认为，制造控制系统是实现这一目标的核心。然而，在这一领域取得成功的主要障碍是日益严格的客户要求(例如，高质量、可定制、可快速交付的低成本产品)和固有的制造系统复杂性(即，这些系统本质上是分布式、并发和随机的)的组合。尽管制造技术已经变得越来越复杂，以处理这些问题(例如，通过先进的机器人和计算机数字控制)，但如果没有足够的控制，结果往往是缺乏必要的集成来实现真正响应行为的“自动化孤岛”。因此，需要新的控制软件和硬件方法来实现一个灵活(即能够重构)和响应(即能够从干扰中恢复)的系统。本研究着眼于一种新的实时制造控制方法，旨在减少现有控制技术对制造系统灵活性和响应性的障碍。更具体地说，这项建议建立在申请人以前在这一领域的工作的基础上，具体目的是使实时分布式控制重新配置管理和安全管理的设计过程正规化。这项研究的总体目标是帮助加拿大制造商在当今的全球市场上保持竞争力，使他们能够对变化做出快速反应，同时保持系统稳定运行和有效利用现有资源。

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 stringentcustomer 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.