Multi-agent-based agile scheduling

The multi-agent systems paradigm represents one of the most promising approaches to the development of agile scheduling systems in manufacturing. Innovative and balanced perspectives of multi-agent approaches to agile scheduling are discussed in this paper, and several achieved results and current developments are described. The description of the multi-agent framework emphasizes the use of negotiation mechanism to improve the scheduling flexibility, as well as the aspects of information integration, communication and coordination in a community of agents. For information integration and management various approaches are addressed and the utilization of a distributed/federated database management system is suggested. Finally, some innovative aspects for agile scheduling are introduced, particularly in the context of virtual enterprise environments. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.