Agents get framed in novel architecture : the system architecture described here has been designed for multi-robot installations, but has the potential for far wider application

Robot techniques appear to have made little impact on applications areas involving part assembly. This is mainly due to a lack of flexibility and consequent problems of cost justification, particularly where there are multiple products and short product runs. Ways of increasing flexibility include the reduction of fixturing by using more than one robot on an assembly task, the provision of enhanced sensing capabilities by using multiple sensors, and the use of the sensory system to provide information for an error‐correction and detection facility. A complex system with these facilities places particular emphasis on the requirement to integrate a set of sub‐systems. This integration is difficult to achieve using conventional methods of computer control, both from the viewpoint of real‐time operation and the provision of reliable and maintainable software.