Emerging Solutions for Future Manufacturing Systems: IFIP TC 5 / WG 5.5. Sixth IFIP International Conference on Information Technology for Balanced Automation Systems in Manufacturing and Services, 27-29 September 2004, Vienna, Austria

Industries and particularly the manufacturing sector have been facing difficult challenges in a context of socio-economic turbulence characterized by complexity as well as the speed of change in causal interconnections in the socio-economic environment. In order to respond to these challenges companies are forced to seek new technological and organizational solutions.

In this context two main characteristics emerge as key properties of a modern automation system – agility and distribution....