Abstract
In this research, a product agent is proposed for the configuration of an autonomous decentralized manufacturing system which flexibly responds to high-mix very-low volume production. A product agent has its own product model. A product agent can select the machine to manufacture the product by referring to machine data and negotiation with other product agents. When the material for the product enters the production line, the corresponding product agent is dynamically generated. The agent confers with other agents on the production machine to be used for each job. The method of achieving the negotiation was examined by generating a production schedule. By this trial implementation, the advantage of the proposed agent-negotiation method was shown.
