Abstract
New production control paradigms, such as holonic and multi-agent systems, allow the development of more flexible and adaptive factories. In these distributed approaches, autonomous entities possess a partial view of the environment, being the decisions taken from the cooperation among them. The introduction of self-organization mechanisms to enhance the system adaptation may cause the system instability when trying to constantly adapt their behaviours, which can drive the system to fall into a chaotic behaviour. This paper proposes a nervousness control mechanism based on the classical Proportional, Integral and Derivative feedback loop controllers to support the system self-organization. The validation of the proposed model is made through the simulation of a flexible manufacturing system.

Abstract
Multi-agents systems and holonic manufacturing systems are suitable approaches to design a new and alternative class of production control systems, based on the decentralization of control functions over distributed autonomous and cooperative entities. However, in spite of their enormous potential they lack some aspects related to interoperability, migration, optimisation in decentralised structures and truly self-adaptation. This paper discusses the advantages of combining these paradigms with complementary paradigms, such as service-oriented architectures, and enhancing them with biologically inspired algorithms and techniques, such as emergent behaviour and self-organization, to reach a truly robust, agile and adaptive control system. An example of applying a stigmergy-based algorithm to dynamically route pallets in a production system is also provided.

Abstract
The current market's demand for customization and responsiveness is a major challenge for producing intelligent, adaptive manufacturing systems. The Multi-Agent System (MAS) paradigm offers an alternative way to design this kind of system based on decentralized control using distributed, autonomous agents, thus replacing the traditional centralized control approach. The MAS solutions provide modularity, flexibility and robustness, thus addressing the responsiveness property, but usually do not consider true adaptation and re-configuration. Understanding how, in nature, complex things are performed in a simple and effective way allows us to mimic nature's insights and develop powerful adaptive systems that able to evolve, thus dealing with the current challenges imposed on manufacturing systems. The paper provides an overview of some of the principles found in nature and biology and analyses the effectiveness of bio-inspired methods, which are used to enhance multi-agent systems to solve complex engineering problems, especially in the manufacturing field. An industrial automation case study is used to illustrate a bio-inspired method based on potential fields to dynamically route pallets.

Abstract
This paper is concerned with design considerations and tradeoffs involved in the power electronics development for light electric vehicles. A review of propulsion system design, power conversion structure and control is presented. A three-phase squirrel-cage induction motor is used as propulsion system for an electric scooter. The motor is controlled at different operating conditions by means of a simple scalar control using a low cost controller board developed for light electric vehicles used in local areas. Experimental results show that the proposed digital controller is able to follow the reference speed with a suitable dynamics for the electric scooter.

Abstract
This paper presents a digital controller suitable for an instructional laboratory in electric drives. A prototype has been designed specifically to meet the requirements of low cost and motivating education tool, and it contains all of the active functions required to implement the open loop control of induction motors. This approach develops the concept of "grey box" module where the details are built for convenience, but not hidden inside as a "black box". Introductory laboratory experiments are presented to demonstrate how this hardware can be integrated in laboratory classes to present the most important concepts as regards adjustable speed drives.

Abstract
This paper presents a low cost, modular, configurable and fully protected education tool based on a generic electronic converter to be used by students, providing them with skills regarding power electronics and converters, and enabling them to learn from experience the most important issues concerning DC and AC electric drives.