Abstract
Multi-agent systems paradigm is a suitable approach to implement distributed manufacturing systems addressing the emergent requirements of flexibility, robustness and responsiveness. In such systems, an ontology is a crucial piece to provide a common understanding on the vocabulary used by the intelligent, distributed agents during the exchange of shared knowledge. This paper describes the design of an ontology to define the structure of the knowledge that is used within a multi-agent system integrating process and quality control in production lines for home appliances, which is being developed within the EU FP7 GRACE (inteGration of pRocess and quAlity Control using multi-agEnt technology) project. The ontology schema is validated by instantiating for a case study derived from a washing machines production line.

Abstract
In the last decade multi-agent systems (MAS) have been thoroughly investigated as a suitable paradigm for process control. Despite the difficulties in designing and maintaining a MAS architecture for real production scenarios, several EU research projects have been financed and many companies are looking at the improvement in the production efficiency of such systems. The EU FP7 GRACE project aims at the integration of process and quality control in a multi-agent environment. This paper discusses the integration of quality control stations into the GRACE MAS. The stations themselves will become autonomous agents, capable of self-reconfiguration according to the needs of the production to improve shop floor efficiency while maintaining the same (and possibly higher) quality level for the manufactured products. Details about the quality control agent behaviour, its integration with the physical hardware and communication with the other agents will be given. All the concepts have been tested in an experimental environment where a vision inspection station behaves as one of the agents of the MAS platform, communicating and exchanging data with the other agents and optimizing its operations over time.

Abstract
The fusion of mechatronics, communication, control and information technologies has allowed the introduction of new automation paradigms into the production environment. The virtualization of the production environment facilitated by the application of the service-oriented architecture paradigm is one of major outcomes of that fusion. On one side, service-oriented automation works based on exposition, subscription and use of automation functions represented by e. g. web services. On the other side, the evolution of traditional industrial systems, particularly in the production area, as a response to architectural and behavioural (functional) viewpoints of the ISA95 enterprise architecture, where a close inter-relation between SCADA, DCS and MES systems facilitate the management and control of the production environment. Automation functions are increasingly performed by the composition and orchestration of services. Among other methods, the application of formal Petri net based orchestration approaches is being industrially established. This paper presents the major characteristics that such a Petri net based orchestration presents when it is developed, implemented and deployed in an industrial environment.

Abstract
The paper introduces a vision on the design of distributed manufacturing control systems using the multi-agent principles to enhance the integration of the production and quality control processes. It is highlighted how agent technology may enforce interaction of manufacturing execution system and distributed control system, enhancing the exploitation of the available information at the quality control and process control levels. A specific focus is made on a suitable engineering methodology for the design and realization of such concept. Innovation is also presented at the level of adaptive process control and self-optimizing quality control, with examples related to a home appliance production line.

Abstract
In industrial automation, service-orientation is a relatively new and ascending concept and thus, concrete integrated methodologies are missing to accomplish the required development tasks. A suitable approach is to use the powerful set of features that Petri nets formalism provides for such dynamic systems. This paper presents a token game template that is part of the open methodology for the development of customized Petri nets controllers, targeting the engineering of service-oriented industrial automation. This template is based on a state machine specification for the life-cycle of transitions that leaves several options open for extending it with features depending on the application. The practical use and implementation should bring, among others, featured-full and integrated modeling, analysis and control capabilities, which is required by service-oriented ecosystems. This core structure was used and validated in the development of control applications for an industrial automation system.

Abstract
This paper describes a solution for the control of service-oriented devices based on modular and special adapted High-Level Petri Nets process description of intra- and inter-control activities. The procedure is applied on a case study scenario, corresponding to a real transfer system made of several control devices represented as service-oriented components able to share information between them. The High-Level Petri Nets are adapted to associable models applicable to describe control processes and sufficient elastic for different control strategies. Valuable and flexible control features are obtained from its application, such as an integrated methodology for the modular control with decision support and validation.