Integration of a heterogeneous Low Level Control in a multi-agent system for the manufacturing domain

Currently employed manufacturing systems are very often historically grown systems that can comprise several different technologies of control software. Linking these diverse control subsystems in the manufacturing domain is therefore of vital importance to ensure the system´s functionality. In this paper we introduce an agent-based approach with agents that integrate a high level control layer and a low level control layer using a generic interface. Three use-cases are presented that illustrate the application of existing low level control solutions. The shown communication concept offers a feasible way for integrating these different types of low level control in a multi-agent system for the manufacturing domain. This allows to reduce the domain´s complexity and to handle its heterogeneous nature.