Coalition formation in manufacturing multi-agent systems

This contribution emphasises the need and potential role of forming teams of flexible and autonomous agents participating in the production planning process. The paper explores a knowledge-based method supporting the process of coalition formation, the tri-based acquaintance model (3bA). The 3bA maintains agents' social knowledge about collaborative agents that limits substantially the space of possible manufacturing coalitions. These ideas are supported by an implementation of the production planning multi-agent system and describing its role in manufacturing.