Integrating Robots in Modular Production Environments via the Module Type Package

Efficiency and flexibility are continual demands on future production systems, and modularization has emerged as a strategy to address these challenges. In the process industry, the Module Type Package (MTP) standard was introduced to simplify the integration and configuration of modular production systems. Transferring the MTP technology to other indus-trial domains is an active research field. This paper describes how the MTP can be used to integrate robotic systems into mod-ular manufacturing plants without compromising the MTP standard. This fills a gap in existing literature and provides promising scientific and commercial opportunities. The study presents a layered concept encompassing all necessary compo-nents for the integration of robotic systems, from the robot's control to the orchestration of the modular plant. A prototypical implementation demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed ap-proach, successfully performing a typical robotic task, a Pick-and-Place operation, using MTP-based services. The imple-mented services, though representing basic robot functionali-ties, lay the groundwork for more complex services or nested service structures. In conclusion, this research contributes to the understanding of the potential integration of robotic systems in MTP-based modular production environments, paving the way for more sophisticated applications, and addressing open questions for future exploration. The prototypical implementation is publicly available on GitHub.