Distributed Manufacturing: Paradigm, Concepts, Solutions and Examples [Hardcover]

Changing world market conditions have forced manufacturers to apply new architectures and technologies for the design and control of manufacturing systems. Distributed Manufacturing: Paradigm, Concepts, Solutions and Examples outlines the current requirements of manufacturing systems and addresses the architectures, methodologies, and technologies developed within European research activities in response to these requirements.

Distributed Manufacturing: Paradigm, Concepts, Solutions and Examples will be of interest to researchers and developers in all fields involving industrial control systems, as well as to decision-makers within industry and government organizations. The reader will gain a detailed knowledge of the current research directions in industrial control, reaching a comprehensive understanding of current advances, their expected benefits and limitations, and the possible consequences for industrial businesses.

Distributed Manufacturing: Paradigms, Concepts, Solutions and Examples.- The Concurrent Product Development Process.- A Co-evolutionary Perspective on Distributed Manufacturing.- Flexibility and Re-configurability in Manufacturing by Means of Distributed Automation Systems  an Overview.- Collaborative Virtual Environments and Immersion in Distributed Engineering Contexts.- Communication Systems as an Integral Part of Distributed Automation Systems.- Applications of Agent Systems in Intelligent Manufacturing.- Utilization of Advanced Control Devices and Highly Autonomous Systems for the Provision of Distributed Automation Systems.- Design Patterns for Distributed Control Applications.- Conclusions and Outlook.

Hermann K?hnle holds a doctorate in Mechanical Engineering and a diploma in Mathematics, both from the University of Stuttgart. He joined the Otto-von-Guericke-University of Magdeburg, Germany, in 1994 as a Full University ProfelÃÌ