Agent-Oriented Modeling and Simulation of Distributed Manufacturing

Abstract

This chapter proposes an agent-oriented method for modeling and simulation of distributed production environments. The proposed method views a manufacturing enterprise as consisting of active entities—agents. The method makes use of the Radical Agent-Oriented Process (RAP) methodology introduced by Taveter and Wagner (2005) which is based on Agent-Object-Relationship (AOR) modeling. The chapter first presents the AOR Modeling Language and the RAP/AOR viewpoint modeling framework of the methodology. Thereafter its lays out principles of turning the modeling constructs of the RAP/AOR methodology into the implementation constructs of a simulation environment and briefly describes the simulation environment. The method is aimed at the creation of environments for modeling and simulation of distributed manufacturing.