A BPMN-Engine Based Process Automation System

Abstract

Unmanned factories are ideal for the manufacturing industry, where everything is fully automated. But in real life, the participation of humans is inevitable. In many cases, it is the collaboration among robots, PLCs, and humans. BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation) can combine different systems and technique processes in a loosely coupled manner, makes it more agile to design, deploy, and upgrade production lines, and further improves efficiency and reduces costs. This paper explores the method of using BPMN-Engine for process modeling in the manufacturing industry. An assembly line human-robot collaborative automation system has been implemented and tested accordingly. It plays a very effective role to ensure the correct timing between automated and manual tasks, and to guarantee the process line runs smoothly and flawlessly.