Designing Integrated Engineering Environments: Blackboard-Based Integration of Design and Analysis Tools

Abstract

Blackboard-based integration of multiple agents is a natural and viable technology for the implementation of concurrent-engineering (CE) environments This article presents a blackboard architecture that has been extended to support the integration of heterogeneous collabora tive agents The suitability of the architecture as an integration framework for CE applications is discussed, followed by a description of a proto type CE application developed as part of Ford Motor Company's participation in the RRM (Rapid Response Manufacturing) Consortium ¹ The prototype is a mixed-initiative, multiuser, multiprocessing environment that integrates heterogeneous agents working on crankshaft design, analy sis, and manufacturing-feasibility assessment The effectiveness of the RRM prototype and the ease and speed with which it was created demon strates that blackboard-based integration technology is appropriate for building multiagent concurrent-engineering applications

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