Pervasive model adaptation: integration of planning and information gathering in dynamic production systems

Abstract

Model-based planning often assumes a static system model, while in practice physical systems often evolve or drift over time. This paper proposes the novel idea of pervasive model adaptation in a production system, where the model is dynamically updated using production output. The core idea is the interplay between model adaptation and production planning. We seek plans which simultaneously serve the goals of achieving high productivity for production and information gathering for model adaptation. The paper uses a simple modular printing example to illustrate issues such as formulation of the information criterion and search strategy for informative plans. The idea of pervasive adaptation can be further extended to achieve long term productivity in production systems.