International Journal of Mechatronics and Manufacturing Technology

Authors: Shyam Pathak, Sudarshan Singh

Abstract: Distributed manufacturing is rapidly gaining attention as industries aim for flexible, scalable, and resilient production systems. Traditional centralized manufacturing approaches often struggle with inefficiency, high costs, and vulnerability to system failures. Swarm robotics, inspired by the collective behavior of social insects, presents a promising solution for distributed manufacturing environments. This review examines the principles of swarm robotics, its applications in distributed manufacturing, key advantages, limitations, and future prospects. We discuss various algorithms for task allocation, coordination, and communication among robotic swarms, highlighting their potential to improve productivity and fault tolerance. Case studies from recent literature demonstrate how swarm robotics can optimize material handling, assembly, and inspection tasks. The paper concludes by identifying research gaps and suggesting directions for further study.

Keywords: Swarm robotics, distributed manufacturing, multi-agent systems, task allocation, industrial automation, collective behavior.