Adoption Issues of Multi-agent Systems in Manufacturing Industry

This paper looks at the adoption challenges of multiagent systems as an implementation of the intelligent manufacturing concept, which intends to offer a system characterized by its flexibility, reconfigurability, autonomy, reliability and learning capabilities. It describes the concept of multi-agent systems, its generic architecture and some relevant industrial implementations. Additionally, it analyzes the main multi-agent challenges looking for its benefits in the manufacturing industry, but also exposing its limitations and barriers for a widely industry adoption.