A Cooperative Multi-agent System for Plan Generation in Batch manufacturing

This paper proposes an approach to generate blending plans using a cooperative multi-agent system. First, a model for the blending problem in batch manufacturing is developed based on operations research principles, which takes into consideration of factors involved in blending plan generation. Second, the architecture of the system is introduced. We describe the structures of control agent and execution agents that make up the cooperative multi-agent system. Third, the cooperative problem solving process for blending plan generation using the multi-agent system is described. Finally, an application of our system in tea blending is presented. The system has been in operation successfully for a tea manufacturer. The proposed approach is efficient and effective in finding blending plans.