Towards the CYBER FACTORY

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Agents Lab/Vic
versalog
Fri April 26 2002
Colin Hales
colin_at_versalog.com.au
Towards the CYBER FACTORY
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Overview
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• Evolution of automation
• Evolution of technology in factory automation
• Economic and logistical imperatives driving
  change
• Social - the role of humans in factories over the
  years and in the future.
• Holonics
• Use of intelligent agents (max payback) in
  Holonics

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Manufacturing Paradigm Shifts
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mass-customized, low-volume, high-mix
Sum of All Manufacturing types
Mass Customisation
mass-produced, high-volume, low-mix
Mass Production Options
Mass Production
Craft
1900
2000
1980s
1910
Different philosophies for manufacturing are
needed
4

versalog
Software Services Drive Total Automation
Business for Process Industries The worldwide
market for Automation Products and Services for
Process Industries, over 44 billion in 2001, is
expected to grow at the compounded annual growth
rate of just over 5 over the next five years.
Without question, growth will be driven by
software and services while traditional
hardware-based markets experience below average
growth. Source http//www.arcweb.com/arcweb/newsm
ag/auto55_autoproc.asp
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- The Evolution of Control Technology-
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Functionality Increases
109
HOLONIC
108
107
106
Granular H/W
105
104
Distributed
103
Hierarchical PLC Structure
102
PLC
101
Relay
Solid State Control
100
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
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- The Evolution of Control Technology-
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Perception
Gradual Adoption
Australians
Americans..
Euphoria
Valley of Cynicism
FAD STOPPER
Time
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- When standing still is falling behind -
Forces Driving Change
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• Change is by quantum leap

• Competitive advantage through looking at your
  customers customer.

• Machines that make the machines are automated

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State of Technology
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AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!

• Imagine a world with 25 Bill Gates
• Supplier stranglehold game

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State of Technology
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• But it got better Open Systems
• Lags PC world by a reducing time

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State of Technology
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Issues Sensors Communications Programming
Languages HMI/SCADA Operating Systems BUS
standards CPU
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State of Technology
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Issues Stabilisation on open standards is
occurring, but the old stranglehold persists for
political reasons. I want 1 and 1 only BUM to
KICK.
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State of Technology
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Buying Habits The ONE STOP SHOP
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State of Technology
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The full circle.

• Highly Parallel

• Granular
• Parallel

• De-Centralised
• Parallel/serial

• Centralised/Monolithic
• Highly serial

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- When standing still is falling behind -
Forces Driving Change
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• Technology/new materials.
• GLOBALISATION
• Time to market
• Mass customisation
• Internet (Browsers/TCP/IP)
• New semiconductor technologies
• Embedded Windows
• Microsoft active involvement OPC

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- When standing still is falling behind -
Forces Driving Change
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• INTEGRATION of business systems and the plant
  floor like never before.
• Web Based implementations of traditional SCADA
• WEB Based Industrial Devices/Processors
• COMMS Foundation Fieldbus (finally)
• PROCESSORS PC Based control (Windows CE)
• Granular Distributed Control Systems
• DCS Functions on Traditional PLC/Soft PLC
• REGULATORY The biological revolution.pharma/drug
  s

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Traditional Manufacturing
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Marketing/Sales
OLD XYZ Co.
Admin
Computing
Engineering
Plant Floor
Maintenance
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Holonics- 101
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Holarchy
Hierarchy
Subcontractor
BOSS
Sub Contract Dialogue
Task Assignments
Sub-contractor
Sub-contractor
Sub-contractor
Worker
Worker
Worker
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Holonics- 101 in business
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• Team Based
• End Customer Need Focussed
• Producer/Consumer Nested

Customer Co
New XYZ Co. Admin, Marketing,Sales, Engineering,
Finance, Maintenance, Plant Floor , Computing,
Warehousing
New PQR Co Eg Banking
New ABC Co Eg outsourced Computing. .
New MNO Co Eg outsourced Maint.
etc Co
etc Co

• Time invariant
• Space invariant

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Peoples Whole View of Business will change
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• It becomes, in the limit
• a set of managed material/service flows that
  converge on a customer in that it is pulled
  into existence by demand.
• A flow of money in the opposite direction.

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Holonics- 101 in business
versalog

• Holonics is happening in business practice, even
  though they dont know it.
• This is a useful indicator of imminence of
  readiness for Agents
• Automation systems driven by manufacturing
  demand as created ever more directly by the
  customer base.

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Agents in Manufacturing
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• Managing product life cycle in an environment of
  continual change
•  Performance Monitoring and Analysis
• Decision support
• Knowledge Management
• Procedure Management
• Fault Detection and Diagnosis
• Alarm Management
• Condition Monitoring and Predictive Maintenance
• Inventory Management

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Agents in Manufacturing
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• Supply Chain Management
• Training
• ERP/MES, SP95, SP81, SP88, IEC61139
• Scada setup
• Calibration
• Quality Information Systems
• Statistical Analysis
• Production Tracking
• Automated Data Management
• Resource Management
• Advanced Scheduling

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Agents in Manufacturing
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• This is the fully holonic dream.
• Expert agents negotiate to run the plant
  optimally according to orders. Humans intervene
  to make critical decisions, teach, navigate
  change and get involved in diagnostics and
  repair.

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Agents in Manufacturing

• So what to do first?
• First a little structure is needed

versalog
IncreasingCost of Change
MRP
MES
IncreasingDemand for Change
Cell
Multi Site
Machine
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Agents in Manufacturing

• So what to do first?
• First a little structure is needed

versalog
MRP
My Interest is here
MES
Cell
Machine
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Agents in Manufacturing
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Basic Agent Scope of Works
Inhabits plant, 24/7
Takes over Auto control of plant
Learns how to run the plant. Humans teach it.
Eliminate programming. Learn IEC61131, SP8
Deals with local production scheduling
Diagnostics assistance
Works with humans for manual operations
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Agents in Manufacturing
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• Why is it possible.?
• ONTOLOGIES require much less effort to formalise,
  they are highly specified already although
  indirectly.

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The Human Factor
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My observations Change is a shock in that it
changes the type of the work done and the number
of people. Displacement occurs. It will be the
same with Agents.
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What Colin Wants
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Reasoning Systems
CH
Biological/Life forms
Holonic Controls
Autonomy Co-operation Intelligence
Learning Systems
Rule Based Software
Programmable Devices
Command Based Software
Dumb Hardware
Relay/I/O points
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The Cyber Factory
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The manufacturing pyramid is run by agents whose
biological based Avatars call humans as
needed. Of course, nano technology will
probably render it all obsolete, but. I think
theres still a long way to go.
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The Cyber Factory
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Thats All, Folk.
Thanks..