A service-oriented approach to embedded component-based manufacturing automation

Today's manufacturing enterprises are characterised by frequently changing market demands, time-to-market pressure, continuously emerging new technologies and global competition. The traditional manufacturing control systems are often lacking in terms of the capabilities of responsiveness, flexibility, robustness and re-configurability. Therefore, there is a need of interoperability and integration of control functions on different hierarchical levels ranging from field level to various higher level applications such as process control and operations management services. More specifically, an open, agile automation environment with plug and play connectivity is needed. To reduce cost and improve flexibility, a reconfigurable component-based automation approach based on a platform of reusable components is proposed. This paper outlines the application of component-based technology to shop floor devices using a Service-Oriented Architecture and Web Services for the purpose of realising future generation agile manufacturing systems. If SOA can be applied at shop floor level using the embedded devices, it can enable entirely new automation architectures based on peer-to-peer interactions between autonomous devices. This paper proposes a distributed modular service-based approach to the implementation of a real manufacturing application associated with the control of automotive engine assembly lines.