Distribution of machine information using Blackboard designed component for remote monitoring of reconfigurable manufacturing systems

A blackboard-based design for a system component called the "Broadcaster" is described in this paper. It supports remote monitoring of reconfigurable manufacturing systems using a novel system architecture coupled with the Component-Based system paradigm. The design of this component has been evaluated using a case study on a web services-enabled test rig funded by the Ford Motor Company, U. K. The test rig has been implemented using a fully distributed control device called FTB, designed by the Schneider Electric Company. Evaluation of this component has been carried out using three scenario test cases which demonstrate the potentials offered when deploying this solution to a real production environment. The system component not only operates in a heterogeneous reconfigurable manufacturing environment, offering a vendor-independent solution to monitoring machines, but it also supports remote monitoring of the machines throughout their development and management lifecycles.