Evaluating the design and development of Reagere

We have designed and implemented a multi-agent shop floor manufacturing control system, called Reagere (Latin for the word react). Reagere is one of the first fully agent-oriented systems, where the agents represent all components (hardware, software, sensors, etc) of the manufacturing environment. Hence Reagere was developed to explore the idea of shop floor control based on agent behavior and reactive techniques. This paper shares lessons learned by evaluating the design decisions taken during the research and implementation of Reagere. By detailing our experiences we hope to provide a better understanding of applying agents within the manufacturing research community.