Abstract
As opposed to highly centralized present systems, cellular-type machines were proposed. A cellular-type machine is a mechanical system composed of distributed autonomous intelligent units, called cells, of as few kinds as possible, and with no central control. In our most recent work, we have introduced the concept of movable cells (cells with the introduction of moving function) as a method to improve the robustness against faults and the flexibility of the previously developed system. In the present work we describe the development of a (movable) cellular manufacturing system, which presents characteristics such as real-time scheduling, self-assembly, and enhanced robustness against faults.
