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This book covers current requirements of manufacturing systems and the architectures, methodologies and technologies developed within European research in response to the requirements. It also gives a comprehensive survey on the future of industrial control.

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Changing world market conditions have forced manufacturers to apply new architectures and technologies for the design and control of manufacturing systems. Distributed Manufacturing: Paradigm, Concepts, Solutions and Examples outlines the current requirements of manufacturing systems and addresses the architectures, methodologies, and technologies developed within European research activities in response to these requirements.

Distributed Manufacturing: Paradigm, Concepts, Solutions and Examples will be of interest to researchers and developers in all fields involving industrial control systems, as well as to decision-makers within industry and government organizations. The reader will gain a detailed knowledge of the current research directions in industrial control, reaching a comprehensive understanding of current advances, their expected benefits and limitations, and the possible consequences for industrial businesses.

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Distributed Manufacturing: Paradigms, Concepts, Solutions and Examples.- The Concurrent Product Development Process.- A Co-Evolutionary Perspective on Distributed Manufacturing.- Flexibility and Re-Configurability in Manufacturing by Means of Distributed Automation Systems - An Overview.- Collaborative Virtual Environments and Immersion in Distributed Engineering Contexts.- Communication Systems as Integral Part of Distributed Automation Systems.- Applications of Agent Systems in Intelligent Manufacturing.- Utilization of Advanced Control Devices and Highly Autonomous Systems for the Provision of Distributed Automation Systems.- Design Patterns for Distributed Control Applications.- Conclusions and Outlook.

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Hermann Kühnle holds a doctorate in Mechanical Engineering and a diploma in Mathematics, both from the University of Stuttgart. He joined the Otto-von-Guericke-University of Magdeburg, Germany, in 1994 as a Full University Professor and as Executive Director of the Institute for Ergonomics, Manufacturing Systems and Automation. From 1994 to 2001 he was also Foundation and Executive Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation, IFF, Magdeburg.

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