a b s t r a c tProduct intelligence is a new industrial manufacturing control paradigm aligned with the context of cyber-physical systems and addressing the current requirements of flexibility, reconfigurability and responsiveness. This paradigm introduces benefits in terms of improvement of the entire product's lifecycle, and particularly the product quality and customization, aiming the customer satisfaction. This paper presents an implementation of a system of intelligent products, developed under the scope of the GRACE project, where an agent-based solution was deployed in a factory plant producing laundry washing machines. The achieved results show an increase of the production and energy efficiency, an increase of the product quality and customization, as well as a reduction of the scrap costs.

Manufacturing companies are currently forced to reconsider their production processes by adopting more flexible, robust, and adaptive systems, aiming to improve their competitiveness. Multiagent systems (MASs) technology is suitable to address this challenge by providing an alternative way to design these complex systems based on the decentralization of the control functions over distributed entities. This paper describes the installation of a MAS solution in an industrial factory plant producing laundry washing machines. The installed solution focuses on the integration of quality and process control, and contributes to the maximization of the factory profitability facing changing conditions by applying self-adaptation procedures at the local and global levels. The preliminary results show improvements in the production efficiency and product quality, as well as a reduction of the scrap costs.

Abstract-The paper introduces a vision on the design of distributed manufacturing control systems using the multi-agent principles to enhance the integration of the production and quality control processes. It is highlighted how agent technology may enforce interaction of manufacturing execution system and distributed control system, enhancing the exploitation of the available information at the quality control and process control levels. A specific focus is made on a suitable engineering methodology for the design and realization of such concept. Innovation is also presented at the level of adaptive process control and self-optimizing quality control, with examples related to a home appliance production line.

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