Auto ID systems and intelligent manufacturing control

Abstract Automated identification systems which involve the automated retrieval of the identity of objects are becoming a reality for monitoring items moving through the manufacturing supply chain. Automated identification enables accurate, timely information about a specific item to be stored, retrieved and communicated. This information can be used to assist in automated decision making and control functions relevant to that item. This paper specifically explores the impact of such developments on manufacturing shop floor control, examining the way in which both conventional control methods and so-called distributed, intelligent control methods can be enhanced by the availability of accurate, timely information about an item. In the case of distributed, intelligent manufacturing control we begin to build a specification for the concept of an intelligent product —a product whose information content is permanently bound to its material content and which is able to influence decisions made about it.