Holonic Manufacturing - The Route to Autonomous and Cooperative Manufacturing Systems

Abstract Holonic Manufacturing represents an engineering framework for the development and operation of autonomous, decentralised and co-operative manufacturing systems. The new paradigm combines the concepts of hierarchical systems and the integration of autonomous elements in distributed systems. The international Holonic Manufacturing Systems (HMS) consortium is researching and developing generic components and application specific solutions based on Holonic Manufacturing principles. This paper gives an introduction to the HMS concepts and describes the current state of developments achieved by the partners from Europe, North America, Japan and Australia.