The proposed work would result in the development of a supervisory control system for flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) in general, and cooperating multi-robot systems in particular. The system, to be referred to as an Activity Controller (AC), will be organized in a hierarchical structure where the levels of the hierarchy correspond to the different decision types necessary to control an FMS. As the decisions narrow from plant level to machine level, both decision detail and communication rate increase, the latter from hours to milliseconds. In the AC hierarchy, the real time status of the FMS is taken into account at each level. The highest level organizes FMS components to meet short-term production requirements and the lowest level issues commands to a robot controller. The work for Phase I focuses on the lower level of the AC, where the task is to assure conflict-free operation of the system. The lower level is emphasized in this work because it is the fundamental building block for system integration. Current solutions for conflict avoidance are ad hoc and demand prolonged development time. In Phase I a general methodology for conflict detection and avoidance will be developed and an efficient AC will be generated. Interfaces to both lower (robot) and upper (production) levels will be considered. This research should contribute important new knowledge for development of FMS, and funding is recommended.
