Multi-agent architecture for design and recycling of sustainable products

摘要

The recycling of manufacturing products has become a major concern in the majority of industrialised countries. To be effective, this concern cannot be considered only in the ultimate stage of the product life cycle. We present an approach in which recycling is taken into account early, at the design stage. We discuss information flow needed to satisfy different processes during the life cycle. A general multi-agent architecture, based on three sub-systems (design, manufacturing, recycling) is presented. A generic recycling platform is described in greater detail together with its integration in a platform network.