ProMAIS: A MULTI-AGENT MODEL FOR PRODUCTION INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Abstract: In the age of information proliferation and communication advances, Cooperative Information System (CIS) technology becomes a vital factor for production system design in every modern enterprise. In fact, current production system must hold to new strategic, economic and organizational structures in order to face new challenges. Consequently, intelligent software based on agent technology emerges to improve system design on the one hand, and to increase production profitability and enterprise competitive position on the other hand. This paper starts with an analytical description of logical and physical flows dealt with manufacturing, then proposes one Production Multi-Agent Information System (ProMAIS). ProMAIS is a collection of stationary and intelligent agent-agencies with specialized expertises, interacting to carry out the shared objectives: cost-effective production in promised delay and adaptability to the changes. In order to bring ProMAIS’s dynamic aspect out, interaction protocols are specially zoomed out by cooperation, negotiation and Contract Net protocols.

Keywords: Information System (IS), Cooperative Information System (CIS), Agent, Multi-Agent System (MAS), Production system, ProMAIS, Manufacturing system.