Intelligence in manufacturing systems: the pattern recognition perspective

The field of Intelligent Manufacturing Systems (IMS) has been generally equated with the use of Artificial Intelligence and Computational Intelligence methods and techniques in the design and operation of manufacturing systems. Those methods and techniques are now applied in many different technological domains to deal with such pervasive problems as data imprecision and nonlinear system behavior. The focus in IMS is now shifting to a broader understanding of the intelligent behavior of manufacturing systems. The questions debated by researchers today relate more to what kind and what level of adaptability to instill in the structure and operation of a manufacturing system, with the discussions increasingly gravitating to the issue of system self-organization. This paper explores the changing face of IMS from the perspective of the pattern recognition domain. It presents design criteria for techniques that will allow us to implement manufacturing systems exhibiting adaptive and intelligent behaviour. Examples are given to show how incorporating pattern recognition capabilities can help us build more intelligence and self-organization into the manufacturing systems of the future.