Simulating the generic job shop as a multi-agent system

A model combining Discrete Event System (DES) and Multi-Agent System (MAS) is proposed to simulate a real-time job shop so that it can work as a test bed to systematically study the performance of control rules and algorithms in dynamic job shop scheduling. A definition of a generic job shop is given considering dynamic events, shop floor layout and the Material Handling System (MHS). It is first simulated as a DES and then implemented as an MAS so that data recording and analysis can be naturally distributed to the most related entities and events can be executed simultaneously at different locations. The state changes of agents and the communication among them are illustrated with state charts and sequential diagrams in Unified Modelling Language (UML). The proposed model is validated with a case study through statistical analysis and comparison with reported works. 6 R. Zhou, H.P. Lee and A.Y.C. Nee