The objective of this research is to investigate the concept of an intelligent pallet. The idea is to provide intelligence to the media on which parts are physically carried through the various manufacturing resources. The pallets will be assumed to be enslaved in the system, each equipped with its own central processing unit (CPU) and memory devices. In this scenario, the manufacturing resources are merely agents which will service the commands from an Intelligent Pallet to process, move, and/or assemble the part(s) it carries. This project includes the analysis of technological barriers and economic feasibility. Evaluation of the structure of the control system and its implementation including issues such as the feasibility of a heterarchical control architecture, problems associated with wireless communication, and information flow will also be addresses at both theoretical and experimental levels. Applicability and generalizability of the results of this effort is enhanced through industrial collaboration and matching support from the Purdue Engineering Research Center.
