The Intelligent Systems Architecture for Manufacturing (ISAM) addresses the application of intelligent systems to the manufacturing enterprise at three degrees of abstraction: 1) a conceptual framework for developing metrics, standards, and performance measures, 2) a reference model architecture for conceptual design of intelligent systems, and 3) a set of engineering guidelines for the implementation of manufacturing applications.
ISAM consists of a hierarchically layered set of intelligent processing
nodes organized as a nested series of control loops. In each node, tasks are
decomposed, plans are generated, world models are maintained, feedback from
sensors is processed, and control loops are closed. In each layer, nodes have
a characteristic span of control, with a characteristic planning horizon, and
corresponding level of detail in space and time. Nodes at the higher levels
deal with corporate and production management, while nodes at lower levels deal
with machine coordination and process control. ISAM integrates and distributes
deliberative planning and reactive control functions throughout the entire hierarchical
architecture, at all levels, with different spatial and temporal scales at each
level.
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