A system for measuring physical properties of a workpiece in motion which includes a conveyance assembly for conveying the workpiece, a scanning assembly for scanning the workpiece, and a measurement assembly for measuring at least one physical property of the workpiece while the workpiece is in motion.

A system for reconfiguring a factory having equipment at different workstations throughout the factory and a plurality of sensors disposed throughout the factory includes a factory configuration module configured to store a plurality of predetermined factory configurations and a plurality of mobile transporters configured to engage and transport the equipment to the different workstations throughout the factory based on the predetermined factory configurations and dynamic inputs, where the dynamic inputs include a status of the equipment, a status of the plurality of mobile transporters, sensor data output by the plurality of sensors, or a combination thereof.

Provided is a production module for processing or handling a product in a production system, which production module has a product detection module for reading in product parameters associated to the product, and an interaction module for assigning an adjacent production module to a transfer port. Furthermore, a local assignment table is provided, in which non-adjacent conveying objectives in the production system are in each case assigned to one of the transfer ports. A balancing module serves for iterative reading of first assignment information of a corresponding assignment table of a first adjacent production module, for iterative formation of the local assignment table with the aid of the read-in first assignment information, and for iterative transfer of second assignment information of the local assignment table to a second adjacent production module.

According to one embodiment, an object holding apparatus includes a holding part, a recognition device, and a controller. The holding part is able to hold at least one object. The recognition device recognizes a plurality of objects to generate a recognition result. The controller selects a first object from the objects, based on the recognition result. The controller sets a first direction to one side of the first object along which the number of objects aligned with the first object is smaller than the number of objects aligned with the first object along the other side of the first object. The controller selects a second object aligned with the first object along the first direction. The controller controls a driving of the holding part, based on a selection result of the first object and the second object.

The invention relates to a method for bundling conveying streams on a materials handling element (Ka . . . Kz, K1 . . . K34) comprising a number of incoming conveyor segments (1a, 1b), at least one coupling (2) to an outgoing conveyor segment (3), on which the incoming conveyor segments (1a, 1b) converge, and a number of holding devices (4a, 4b) for holding a conveying stream on the incoming conveyor segments (1a, 1b). In a first step of the method, target arrival times (TA1 . . . TA3, TB1, TC1 . . . TC3), at which the objects arrive as planned at a destination (23a . . . 23c), are calculated for the conveyed objects (17). A conveyed object (17) is released at a release time which substantially corresponds to the target arrival time (TA1 . . . TA3, TB1, TC1 . . . TC3) minus the target pass-through time (t1, t2, t6) required for the conveyed object (17) to be transported as planned from a current position to the destination (23a . . . 23c). The invention further relates to a materials handling element (Ka . . . Kz, K1 . . . K34) for carrying out said method.

According to one embodiment, a data collection system includes an event data collector, a state machine generator, a state machine list, and a state machine driver. The event data collector collects sense signals respectively as a plurality of event data. The state machine generator generates a state machine as a model corresponding to the workpiece. One of the sense signals is acquired when the workpiece is fed into the processing system. The state machine generator generates the state machine and generates an ID for the state machine when the event data collector collects one of the plurality of event data corresponding to the one of the sense signals. The state machine driver drives the state machine retained in the state machine list by sending, to the state machine retained in the state machine list, an event corresponding to another one of the sense signals.

A production facility is provided with: an AGV for transporting a plurality of fuselage panels of multiple types having different shapes in a mixed state on a previously determined transport path; a plurality of A/Rs for riveting the fuselage panels; work areas set so as to correspond to the respective A/Rs in which the A/Rs move to rivet the fuselage panels; and a buffer area, set beforehand in the transport path adjacent to the work area, to which the A/R corresponding to the adjacent work area moves so as to rivet the fuselage panel. When there is no fuselage panel to be riveted in the work area adjacent to the buffer area and the fuselage panel to be riveted is present in the buffer area, a control device moves the A/R corresponding to the work area adjacent to the buffer area to the buffer area to rivet the fuselage panel.

A moving object manufactured in a factory comprises: a driving controller that implements driving control over the moving object by unmanned driving during a course of manufacture of the moving object in the factory; a process completion detector that detects completion of a process by at least one step included in the course of manufacture; and a control content change unit that changes a content in control over the moving object when the completion of the process is detected.

An automated guided vehicle travels in a sheet metal processing facility in which a plurality of sheet metal processing machines are installed. The automated guided vehicle includes an abnormality detection sensor for detecting an abnormality that has occurred while the automated guided vehicle is traveling, a notification destination specifying unit for specifying a sheet metal processing machine as a notification destination of a state of the abnormality, from the plurality of sheet metal processing machines when the abnormality detection sensor detects the abnormality, and a notification information transmission control unit for wirelessly transmitting information for notifying the state of the abnormality, to the sheet metal processing machine as the notification destination specified by the notification destination specifying unit.

Methods for simultaneously producing different products on a single production line are disclosed. The method may be used to produce different fluent products and other types of products including assembled products. In some cases, the method includes providing a plurality of articles which are components of the products to be produced. The method further involves providing a track system and a plurality of vehicles for the articles. At least some of the vehicles may be independently routable around the track system. The method further includes simultaneously sending one article-loaded vehicle to a unit operation station where a step in the production of a product is performed and another article-loaded vehicle to a unit operation station where a step in the production of a different product is performed.