Hierarchical Control for Robots in an Automated Factory

Published

May 1, 1983

Author(s)

James S. Albus, Tony Barbera, Howard Bloom, M L. Fitzgerald, Ernest Kent, Charles R. McLean

Abstract

The basic structure of a hierarchical control system is a tree, wherein each computational module has a single superior, and one or more subordinate modules. The top module is where the highest level decisions are made and the longest planning horizon exists. Goals and plans generated at this highest level are transmitted to the next lower level where they are decomposed into sequences of subgoals. In general, the decomposition at each level takes into account information derived from: (a) processed input data from sensors that measure the state of the environment, (b) reports from lower control levels as to the state of the control hierarchy itself, and (c) predictions (or expectations) generated by models, knowledge bases, or inference engines.

Proceedings Title

Proceedings of the 13th International Symposium on Industrial Robots, Robots 7

Conference Location

, USA

Pub Type

Conferences

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Keywords

automated factory control, automation, robots

Citation

Albus, J. , Barbera, T. , Bloom, H. , Fitzgerald, M. , Kent, E. and McLean, C. (1983), Hierarchical Control for Robots in an Automated Factory, Proceedings of the 13th International Symposium on Industrial Robots, Robots 7, , USA, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=821189 (Accessed October 14, 2025)