A Simulation and Gaming Architecture For Manufacturing Research, Testing, and Training

Abstract: Manufacturing systems are often costly to develop and operate. Simulation technology has been demonstrated to be an effective tool for improving the efficiency of manufacturing system design, operation, and maintenance. But manufacturing simulations are usually developed to address a narrow set of industrial issues, e.g., the purchase of new equipment or the modification of a manufacturing process. Once the analysis is complete a particular simulation model may not be used again. If simulations could be made more modular and easily integrated, they could have tremendous value as tools for manufacturing research, testing, and training. With the incorporation of video game technology, simulations could be created that would enable researchers and students to get near real world experiences with manufacturing. In order to create a realistic virtual manufacturing environment, a number of different types of systems will need to be modeled and integrated. This paper presents a modular reference architecture to facilitate the integration of manufacturing simulation and gaming systems. Opportunities for research, testing, and training are also discussed that will be enabled by the implementation of the architecture.