Synchronized control in a large-scale networked distributed printing system

• ICRA 2009

As engineered systems that have traditionally been controlled centrally become more modular, distributed, and autonomous, techniques are needed that can maintain control coordination among the independent elements, often across a network with delays and bandwidth limitations. In particular, manufacturing systems may require fairly tight coordination, or synchronization, among components acting on the same physical object. This paper addresses the problem of controller synchronization in such a system. We present an implementation of exact controller synchronization for independent controllers in a highly modular printing domain. Our approach, which allows networked controllers to join and leave a task dynamically, has produced good results on a high-speed printer prototype.

citation

Crawford, L. S.; Hindi, H.; Zhou, R.; Larner, D. L. Synchronized control in a large-scale networked distributed printing system. 2009 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA); 2009 May 12-17; Kobe, Japan.