Holarchy for line-less mobile assembly systems operation in the context of the internet of production

Abstract Assembly systems must provide maximum flexibility qualified by organization and technology to offer cost-compliant performance features to differentiate themselves from competitors in buyers’ markets. By mobilization of multipurpose resources and dynamic planning, Line-less Mobile Assembly Systems (LMASs) offer organizational reconfigurability. By proposing a holarchy to combine LMASs with the concept of an Internet of Production (IoP), we enable LMASs to source valuable information from cross-level production networks, physical resources, software nodes, and data stores that are interconnected in an IoP. The presented holarchy provides a concept of how to address future challenges, meet the requirements of shorter lead times, and unique lifecycle support. The paper suggests an application of decision making, distributed sensor services, recommender-based data reduction, and in-network computing while considering safety and human usability alike.