The AARIA agent architecture: From manufacturing requirements to agent-based system design

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Van Dyke Parunak, H.^{a; *} | Baker, Albert D.^b | Clark, Steven J.^c

Affiliations: [a] ERIM CEC, PO Box 134001, Ann Arbor, MI 48113-4001, USA. Tel.: +1 734 623 2509; Fax: +1 734 623 2501; E-mail: [email protected] | [b] Enterprise Action Group, Inc., 4174 Jora Lane, Cincinnati, OH 45209, USA. Tel.: +1 513 871 4800; Fax: +1 513 871 4855; E-mail: [email protected] | [c] Real World Interface, Inc., 32 Fitzgerald Drive, PO Box 375, Jaffrey, NH 03452, USA. Tel.: +1 603 532 6900; Fax: +1 603 532 6901; E-mail: [email protected]

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author.

Abstract: Designs for real-world agent-based systems must reflect both domain requirements and technical capabilities. This paper illustrates some of the requirements for agents in manufacturing scheduling and shows how they lead to an architecture that addresses them, in the context of AARIA (Autonomous Agents for Rock Island Arsenal), an industrial-strength agent-based shop-floor control and scheduling architecture. A review of other agent-based manufacturing systems illustrates how the design choices made in such systems reflect the requirements anticipated by the authors.

DOI: 10.3233/ICA-2001-8104

Journal: Integrated Computer-Aided Engineering, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 45-58, 2001