Abstract
A multi-agent system consists of several computational entities capable of autonomous actions, called agents, which communicate with each other, and have the ability to coordinate their actions and to cooperate. Multi-agent systems received a great interest and attention over time, as they can be seen as a key enabling technology for complex applications, where distributed and processing of data, autonomy, and high degree of interactions in dynamic environments are required at the same time. Therefore, in view of current and future developments of the digitalization of industrial production cycles promoted by Industry 4.0, multi-agent systems are foreseen to play an increasing role for industrial production management and optimization. Because of barriers represented by large presence of legacy systems, in the steel sector agent-based technology is not widely applied yet, and multi-agent systems applications are very few. On the other hand, steel manufacturing industries are complex and dynamic systems whose production processes held a strategic role in the global economy. During last decades, the steel sector has undergone relevant transformations, especially through the massive digitalization and the innovation introduced by Industry 4.0. A further evolution is foreseen in the incoming years to improve the sustainability of the production cycle by improving energy and resource efficiency. Therefore, steel industries must face several challenges on the path toward the factory of the future. In such context multi-agent systems, through their intrinsic properties, such as autonomy, social abilities, reactivity, proactivity, and mobility, can overcome existing drawbacks and barriers, by increasing flexibility, improving resources efficiency, handling production operations, reacting to unpredicted events, optimizing production processes, and supporting legacy systems. In this paper, some applications of multi-agent systems in steel sector are presented to show the advantages and opportunities of agent-based technology.
Funder
European Union, Research Fund for Coal and Steel
Subject
General Materials Science
Reference43 articles.
1. European Steel Association ,
European Steel in Figures 2020,
2020, Available from https://www.eurofer.eu/assets/Uploads/European-Steel-in-Figures-2020.pdf [Online accessed: 6/10/2021]
2. The Challenge of Digitalization in the Steel Sector
3. International Society of Automation ,
ANSI/ISA-95.00.01 Enterprise-Control System Integration – Part I: Models and Terminology,
2010
4. Schweichhart K.,
Reference Architectural Model Industry 4.0 (RAMI 4.0),
2016, Available from https://ec.europa.eu/futurium/en/system/files/ged/a2-schweichhart-reference_architectural_model_industrie_4.0_rami_4.0.pdf
Cited by
6 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献