distributed problem solving

Flexibility and transformability of modern manufacturing are determined by many different factors. One of them is an adaptable and dynamic planning of manufacturing processes. The planning systems have not only to guarantee a stable, reliable and quick planning, but also to react to changes and disturbances flexibly and adeqautely. One promising concept is the multi-agents technology. In this work mechanisms and methods for such an agent-based planning are presented that can be applied to the turbulent manufacturing environment.

The company-spanning collaboration offers companies the chance to exhaust new market potentials by in- creasing their innovation capability and productivity. An important prerequisite therefore is to optimally support knowledge networks and especially the corresponding knowledge exchange and problem solving processes. In the context of the project TRUST an approach was developed to enable companies and respectively their employees on the one hand to provide knowledge needed for problem solving. On the other hand the employees have access within an integrated working environment to experiences, know-how and competences of the knowledge network to solve their specific problems and to develop their individual domain competence.