This paper describes methods by which manufacturing task description and control may be modelled by a formal string grammar with varying degrees of non-determinism. We first describe the sorts of formal grammars which are useful for these purposes, and provide an introduction to the terminology...

This paper explores some of the critical issues in the development of factory automation systems. Amongst the most significant of these can be considered the role of people, the generation of controls software, the reconfiguration of the manufacturing hardware and software to allow an increased...