One of the main problems in robotic research is planning. Different approaches have been considered, ranging from global to local planning. In the authors' approach, the key idea is that of planning movements of redundant robots, which involves both robotic and AI aspects. Pushing is used as a case study and sensorial feedback is considered in order to provide the planner with updated information on the dynamic evolution of the scene and to be able to deal with a priori unknown objects.>

A presentation is made of the methodology adopted in the design of the coordination subsystem and the real-time scheduling subsystem for the simulation and the real-time control of flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs). This particular approach, combining structured, object-oriented paradigms and a particular extension of high-level Petri nets, is presented and discussed. The focus is on the following issues: (1) the modeling of the FMS control system in a structured knowledge base (frame-based multiple-inheritance semantic networks); (2) the automatic synthesis of Petri net models of the coordination subsystem, starting from such a knowledge base; (3) the dynamic behavior of the coordination subsystem; and (4) the structure of the real-time scheduling subsystem, based on particular heuristic suboptimal multicriterion algorithms. The interaction mechanisms between the coordination and scheduling subsystems are defined. A particular case study involving a class of problems on the concurrent scheduling of multiple projects is taken as an example.>

This paper describes the general characteristics and architecture of RPCNET, a distributed computer network for use in the Education and Research area which is being developed in Italy. This project is a joint undertaking of the National Research Council, IBM Scientific Center and a number of Universities and Research Institutes.