0000000000352448
AUTHOR
Klaus-dieter Thoben
Using Cloud, Modularity, and Make-to-Upgrade Strategy for Integrating Customized-Oriented Supply Networks
In the current global business individual demand play crucial roles. Customized-oriented supply networks are being proliferated in manufacturing industries, yet integration of their members is still quite challenging. As a practical solution, in this paper a new collaborative approach out of modularity structure, cloud computing, and a novel production strategy, called Make-to-Upgrade (MTU), is suggested. The complementary aspects of these techniques are highlighted and briefly explained here. MTU is as a strategy for future products with new characteristics, e.g., upgradability.
Interaction Mechanism of Humans in a Cyber-Physical Environment
The research initiative “Industrie 4.0” (I4.0) of the high-tech strategy announced by the German government targets the deployment of a cyber-physical system (CPS) in production and logistics. Such CPS-based environments are characterized by an increasing number of heterogeneous intelligent autonomous and communicating artifacts tightly integrated with humans. Thus, the human’s role will become a composite factor (“man-in-the-mesh”) for this future CPS environment, playing more than just a simple role inside the control loop. This paper investigates the need of a robust communication between CPS and humans, which includes a clear semantic of the exchanged information. For this purpose, a me…
Application of learning pallets for real-time scheduling by the use of radial basis function network
The expansion of the scope and scale of products in the current business environments causes a continuous increase in complexity of logistics activities. In order to deal with this challenge in planning and control of logistics activities, several solutions have been introduced. One of the most latest one is the application of autonomy. The paradigm of autonomy in inbound logistics, can be reflected in decisions for real-time scheduling and control of material flows. Integration of autonomous control with material carrier objects can realize the expected advantages of this alternative into shop-floors. Since pallets (bins, fixtures, etc.) are some common used carrier objects in logistics, t…
A fuzzy programming method for optimization of autonomous logistics objects
Recently several studies have explored the realization of autonomous control in production and logistic operations. In doing so, it has been tried to transmit the merit of decision-making from central controllers with offline decisions to decentralized controllers with local and real-time decision makings. However, this mission has still some drawbacks in practice. Lack of global optimization is one of them, i.e., the lost chain between the autonomous decentralized decisions at operational level and the centralized mathematical optimization with offline manner at tactical and strategic levels. This distinction can be reasonably solved by considering fuzzy parameters in mathematical programm…
Using Metaheuristic and Fuzzy System for the Optimization of Material Pull in a Push-Pull Flow Logistics Network
Published version of an article in the journal: Mathematical Problems in Engineering. Also available from the publisher at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/359074 Open access Alternative material flow strategies in logistics networks have crucial influences on the overall performance of the networks. Material flows can follow push, pull, or hybrid systems. To get the advantages of both push and pull flows in networks, the decoupling-point strategy is used as coordination mean. At this point material pull has to get optimized concerning customer orders against pushed replenishment-rates. To compensate the ambiguity and uncertainty of both dynamic flows, fuzzy set theory can practically be app…
Pilot Prototype of Autonomous Pallets and Employing Little’s Law for Routing
Application of autonomous control for shop-floor scheduling by considering real-time control of material flows is advantageous to those assembly lines with dynamic and uncertain circumstances. Among several potential processors with computing and communication capabilities—for representing autonomous material carriers—wireless sensor nodes seem as promising objects to be applied in practice. For realizing autonomy in making scheduling and routing-control decisions some methodologies need to be embedded in the nodes. Among several experimented methodologies, e.g., artificial intelligence, genetic algorithm, etc., in the context of a doctoral research, in this current special case of assembly…