A Multi-Agent Iterative Bidding Protocol for Agile Manufacturing

Lim, M.K. and Zhang, Z. (2003) A Multi-Agent Iterative Bidding Protocol for Agile Manufacturing. International Conference on Agile Manufacturing, Advances in Agile Manufacturing, ICAM 2003, Beijing, China, 4-6 December 2003. pp. 83-90.

Abstract

This paper introduces a multi-agent system which integrates process planning and scheduling activities in order to enhance the responsiveness of manufacturing systems and acts as a means to achieve agile manufacturing. The agents in this system collaborate with each other to obtain an integrated plan and schedule that carries the minimum production cost while satisfying the promised delivery due dates. The agent co-ordination protocol used is based on a contact-net bidding protocol, where the bidding process is carried out iteratively based on a currency scheme. In the scheme jobs announced to the agents are assigned with virtual currency values which have an effect on agent bidding decisions. These values are iteratively optimised with the purpose of searching for an optimum bid that satisfies due dates and gives the lowest production cost. To optimise the currency values at each iteration, a tabu search algorithm is proposed. The multi-agent system has been implemented on a Java platform. A test case and the results obtained will be discussed in this paper.

• Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Lim, Professor Ming
• Authors: Lim, M.K., and Zhang, Z.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School > Management