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AUTORECON Control Software

 

This production line control software package is consisted of several modules and is used for modeling the shop floor, start the execution and performing the task planning.

The motivation has been the need to develop an autonomous and more flexible manufacturing system built upon agent-based open architecture and ontology technology which will enable:

  • robot to robot cooperation during the execution of a certain job

  • robot reconfiguration to easily adapt to the production process

  • failure detection and handling

  • a quicker and simpler robot programming, without any master/slave roles distribution between the entities of the production line

Technologies

  • The development of the resource interfaces was done using the ROS (Robot Operating System) framework.

  • C++ and Java programming languages have been used for its development, while some modules are using the Jena and the Spring framework

  • ROS service and messaging technology was used in order to achieve synchronous and asynchronous communication

  • ROS interfaces are connected with the Robot Controller using TCP communication protocol

  • OWL modelling language was used in order to create the factory representation at the Ontology Repository

  • SPARQL query language is used in order to retrieve and manipulate the data stored at the Ontology

Software components

  • The resources of the production line have their own ROS interface and are able to operate themselves autonomously and to communicate with all the others when needed.

  • An ontology repository is used where the resources of the factory and the workload is stored.

  • A decision making module is responsible retrieving the information from the Ontology Repository and assign the workload to the available resources.

  • Finally, a Graphical User Interface (GUI) has been developed, which permits the user to modify the data model according to the production line needs

Application examples

The above production line control software has been used in two different applications at the automotive….

…and at the consumer goods industry

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