Abstract
Service-orientation represents a new wave Of features and solutions by bringing closer Information Technology to the industrial domain, particularly factory shop floors. The service-oriented automation software entities (designated here by bots) used in such approach requires a short set of methodologies and software targeting their specification for both computer systems and embedded automation devices. The present work explains the adopted methodologies and software developments for the engineering of service-based automation systems. The main contents focus on the specification of a framework for the development of bots and supporting engineering tools that are part of the Continuum project. The paper also does an overview over the engineering steps from the system design to the operation, and focuses the importance of the maintenance of automation bots. Such applications will contribute to decrease the development time and reduce the components' interdependency, offering enough flexibility for automatic reconfiguration of shop-floor layouts.

Abstract
The use of service-orientation principles in manufacturing systems is a promising solution to achieve modularity, flexibility, re-configurability and interoperability. Crucial issues in these service-oriented systems are the description and co-ordination of the execution of the services offered by the distributed entities. This paper introduces an integrated approach for the design, analysis, validation, simulation and process execution of service-oriented manufacturing systems, using the High-level Petri net formalism as the formal language to describe the system behaviour. The use of the proposed approach contributes to achieving an easier and faster development of these solutions and provides the basis to support modularity and re-configurability.

Abstract
Service-oriented architecture and multi-agent systems are used in the research of novel control systems for industrial automation. This work presents the advance of service-orientation into multi-agent system in industrial automation. An overview of the concept of service-oriented agent is done and also the enhancements that services can bring to multi-agent systems. The documented topics of this work are based on the experiments and projects of the authors in the domain of distributed and component based automation systems. The outcome shows that there are many benefits, namely the aspects of knowledge representation, communication, plug & play, interactions, beside others. These contribute to the vision of future automation systems, where flexibility and customization are strong arguments.

Abstract
Collaborative industrial systems are becoming an emergent paradigm towards flexibility. One promising solution are service-oriented industrial automation systems, but integrated software methodologies and major frame-works for the engineering are still missing. This paper presents an overview of the current results on a unified and integrated methodology based on intrinsic and novel features of Petri nets. These nets are applied to the modeling, analysis, service management, embedded software controllers, decision support system and monitoring, to improve the fundamentals in the engineering of service-oriented automation systems. The solution may contribute to the reduction of the design, operational and reconfiguration phases in the life-cycle of novel automation environments. Results were obtained and discussed from simulations and real industrial demonstrators.

Abstract
This paper reflects a discussion at the SARC workshop, held in Venice, October 2008. This workshop addresses robustness and cooperation in holonic multi-agent systems within a context of self-organizing and self-adaptive systems. The paper first presents the basic principles underlying holonic systems. The holonic system reveals itself as a law of the artificial': in a demanding and dynamic environment, all the larger systems will be holonic. Next, it addresses robustness in holonic systems, including its relationship to self-organization and self-adaptation. These self-* systems indeed are capable of delivering superior robustness. Third, it addresses cooperation in holons and holonic systems, including its relationship with the autonomy of the individual holons. Cooperation imposes constraints on a holon such that its chances of survival and success increase.

Abstract
Traditional centralized and rigid control structures are becoming inflexible to face the requirements of reconfigurability, responsiveness and robustness, imposed by customer demands in the current global economy. The Ho Ionic Manufacturing Systems (HMS) paradigm, which was pointed out as a suitable solution to face these requirements, translates the concepts inherited from social organizations and biology to the manufacturing world. It offers an alternative way of designing adaptive systems where the traditional centralized control is replaced by decentralization over distributed and autonomous entities organized in hierarchical structures formed by intermediate stable forms. In spite of its enormous potential, methods regarding the self-adaptation and self-organization of complex systems are still missing. This paper discusses how the insights from biology in connection with new fields of computer science can be useful to enhance the holonic design aiming to achieve more self-adaptive and evolvable systems. Special attention is devoted to the discussion of emergent behavior and self-organization concepts, and the way they can be combined with the holonic rationale.