Advanced information technologies for industrial material flow systems [proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Advanced Information Technologies for Industrial Material Flow Systems held in Grenoble, France, June 13 - 17, 1988

This book contains the results of an Advanced Research Workshop that took place in Grenoble, France, in June 1988. The objective of this NATO ARW on Advanced Information Technologies for Industrial Material Flow Systems (MFS) was to bring together eminent research professionals from academia, industry and government who specialize in the study and application of information technology for material flow contro!' The current world status was reviewed and an agenda for needed research was discussed and established. The workshop focused on the following subjects: The nature of information within the material flow domain. Status of contemporary databases for engineering and material flow. Distributed databases and information integration. Artificial intelligence techniques and models for material flow problem solving. Digital communications for material flow systems. Robotics, intelligent systems, and material flow contro!' Material handling and storage systems information and contro!' Implementation, organization, and economic research-issues as related to the above. Material flow control is as important as manufacturing and other process control in the computer integrated environment. Important developments have been occurring internationally in information technology, robotics, artificial intelligence and their application in material flow/material handling systems. In a traditional sense, material flow in manufacturing (and other industrial operations) consists of the independent movement of work-in-process between processing entities in order to fulfill the requirements of the appropriate production and process plans. Generally, information, in this environment, has been communicated from processors to movers. Front Matter....Pages I-IX Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Managing Information Complexity in Material Flow Systems....Pages 3-20 Information Dynamics for Computer Integrated Product Realization....Pages 21-38 Some Interactions of Information and Control in Integrated Automation Systems....Pages 39-54 Front Matter....Pages 55-55 Distributed, Intelligent Information System for Automated, Integrated Manufacturing Systems....Pages 57-79 Applying Distributed Artificial Intelligence to Flexible Manufacturing....Pages 81-93 Combining Predicate Transition Nets and Rule Based Systems for Planning, Programming and Exception Handling in Manufacturing Process Control....Pages 95-108 A Knowledge-Based System for Production Equipment Selection and Layout....Pages 109-140 Specifications for Knowledge Representation in Intelligent Systems Layout Design Environments....Pages 141-168 Front Matter....Pages 169-169 The Impact of Advances in Information Technology on Interactive Robotics....Pages 171-188 The Karlsruhe Autonomous Mobile Assembly Robot....Pages 189-199 Knowledge Representation and Integration of Robot Assembly Applications....Pages 201-213 Results of the Development of a Manipulator with a very large reach....Pages 215-222 Global Path Planning Approaches for Material Movements in a Worksite....Pages 223-278 The Need for a Generic Framework for Systems Integration....Pages 279-306 Front Matter....Pages 307-307 Some Issues in Controlling Integrated WIP Material Handling Systems....Pages 309-328 Tool Management and Its Implications for Material Flow....Pages 331-354 Issues in Design and Control of AS/RS....Pages 355-386 Knowledge Models for the Design and Management of Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems....Pages 387-416 Guided Vehicle Systems: Information/Control System Implications of Alternative Design and Operation Strategies....Pages 417-433 Front Matter....Pages 435-435 Materials Handling and Storage in Logistics Systems....Pages 437-459 Front Matter....Pages 435-435 GRAI Approach to Designing and Controlling Advanced Manufacturing System in CIM Environment....Pages 461-529 LLAMA: A Layered Logical Architecture for Material Administration....Pages 531-561 Simulation Technology for the Design and Scheduling of Material Handling and Storage Systems....Pages 563-580 Knowledge Based Approaches for Production Control an Assessment....Pages 581-598 Front Matter....Pages 599-599 Information Processing in Material Flow System Management....Pages 601-636 CIM System Development for Small to Medium Size Discrete-Parts Manufacturing Companies....Pages 637-650 An Approach to Solve Workshop Real Time Scheduling Problems....Pages 651-679 Cybernetics Approach to Material Flow Control....Pages 681-690 Research Panel Reports....Pages 691-710 Back Matter....Pages 711-713