LAUSR

ABSTRACT This paper presents an evaluation of two holonic control implementations, using the Java Agent Development (JADE) framework multi-agent system and the Erlang programming language, respectively. Erlang exhibits several characteristics that make it suitable – and even potentially beneficial – for holonic control, while JADE multi-agent systems have become the status quo in holonic systems research. The evaluation is based on both quantitative and qualitative measures, which are specifically formulated to focus on the implementation of holonic control. Ultimately, the paper aims to aid the developers of holonic manufacturing systems in making informed decisions regarding the choice of implementation language. To this end, the authors reflect on the experience and insight gained from the evaluation experiment. The evaluation shows that both implementations are capable of satisfying the requirements and desired characteristics for holonic manufacturing systems. The authors find that Erlang is especially very well suited for implementing holonic control, offering several important benefits, and warrants further exploration and development.