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Industrial Technology Institute Participates In Three 1997 NITS ATP Awards

9 October 1997

Industrial Technology Institute Participates In Three 1997 NITS ATP Awards

    ANN ARBOR, Mich., Oct. 9 -- The Industrial Technology
Institute (ITI) is a partner in three Advanced Technology Program (ATP)
projects announced yesterday by the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST).  ITI's participation in the three projects, all of which
are based on manufacturing applications of software agents, is valued at
approximately $1.9 million over the next two years.
    The first project is designed to develop agent-based control strategies to
dynamically reassign tasks to industrial robots when failures occur.  This
technology will permit assembly lines to continue to operate in a reconfigured
mode rather than experience costly shutdowns.  The second ATP effort is in
support of a joint venture to develop a "bottom up" control strategy in a
semiconductor fabrication environment.  This agent-based technology will
provide plant floor personnel with new tools to enable the testing and
implementation of incremental productivity improvements to operational
facilities.  The third project is designed to eventually bring a unique,
dynamic factory floor scheduling product to market based on ITI's proprietary
Dynamic Emergent Scheduling Kernel (DESK(TM)) technology.
    ITI is an internationally-recognized leader in applied research on
industrial applications of agent technologies. Software agents are small,
autonomous, intelligent objects that take independent action in response to
local conditions.  For example, rather than simply finding an optimum
schedule, which may be meaningless in a dynamic environment such as a factory,
agent-based systems can adjust production schedules in line with resources,
assist in the recovery of faults in the factory, and streamline the flow of
materials and services in an integrated supply chain.
    The Advanced Technology Program provides cost-shared funding to industry
for high risk projects with the potential to spark important, broad-based
economic benefits for the United States.  The awards are made on the basis of
a rigorous competitive review, which considers the scientific and technical
merit of each proposal and its potential benefits to the U.S. economy.  The
program is managed by the U.S. Commerce Department's National Institute of
Standards and Technology, a non-regulatory agency that works with industry to
develop and apply technology, measurements and standards.
    The Industrial Technology Institute is an independent organization that
partners with federal and state government entities, private enterprise, and
industry organizations to assist manufacturers in increasing productivity,
quality and customer satisfaction.

SOURCE  Industrial Technology Institute