Abstract:In modern industry, dynamic environments and the complexity of modular and reconfigurable resources require automated planning of process sequences. Capability-based planning approaches address this by automatically generating plans from semantic knowledge models that describe resource functions in a machine-interpretable form. Their practical use, however, remains limited: solver feedback, especially in the case of unsatisfiability, is difficult to interpret, and the knowledge models require adaptation as operational conditions change or requests become infeasible. This paper presents a hybrid assistance system that augments an existing capability-based Satisfiability Modulo Theories (SMT) planning approach with an Large Language Model (LLM)-based layer for natural-language interaction, explanation, and adaptation. Formal planning correctness remains with the symbolic planner, while the LLM layer handles natural-language access and flexible knowledge model adaptation under explicit Human-in-the-Loop (HitL) approval. The system decomposes into four components: Capability Grounding, Symbolic Planning, Result Interpretation, and Planning Adaptation, realized as a routed agentic workflow in which a central router delegates to five specialized agents. The system is evaluated on a modular production system across four scenario types. Of 23 test cases, 9 of 10 knowledge queries and all 4 satisfiable planning cases were handled correctly, 3 of 4 unsatisfiable cases produced concrete repair proposals, and all 5 adaptive planning scenarios resolved into satisfiable plans through iterative, user-approved knowledge model modifications. The findings confirm that combining formal planning with LLM-based assistance substantially improves accessibility and adaptability in industrial automation.




Abstract:Modern automation systems increasingly rely on modular architectures, with capabilities and skills as one solution approach. Capabilities define the functions of resources in a machine-readable form and skills provide the concrete implementations that realize those capabilities. However, the development of a skill implementation conforming to a corresponding capability remains a time-consuming and challenging task. In this paper, we present a method that treats capabilities as contracts for skill implementations and leverages large language models to generate executable code based on natural language user input. A key feature of our approach is the integration of existing software libraries and interface technologies, enabling the generation of skill implementations across different target languages. We introduce a framework that allows users to incorporate their own libraries and resource interfaces into the code generation process through a retrieval-augmented generation architecture. The proposed method is evaluated using an autonomous mobile robot controlled via Python and ROS 2, demonstrating the feasibility and flexibility of the approach.