Abstract:

In this paper, an operation model of task scheduling in virtual enterprises （VEs）, which consists of the management agent, the task agent and the resource agent, is established based on the multi-agent technology. In order to optimize the task scheduling, the production tasks of each resource agent in a VE are taken as the research objectives, the production tasks that have been determined for each resource agent, as well as the operation time and transportation time for the production tasks, are taken into consideration, and an optimal scheduling model for minimizing the manufacturing duration is proposed. The model is then solved by using a particle swarm optimization algorithm. The effectiveness of the proposed model and the algorithm is finally verified by the manufacturing practice of an industrial manipulator.

Key words: virtual enterprise, task scheduling, multiple agent, particle swarm optimization