Digital factory – virtual reality environments for industrial training and maintenance

This study evaluates the use of virtual reality (VR) platforms, which is an integrated part of the digital factory for an industrial training and maintenance system. The digital factory-based VR platform provides an intuitive and immersive human–computer interface, which can be an efficient tool for industrial training and maintenance services. The outcomes from this study suggested that use of the VR platform for training and maintenance of complex industrial tasks should be encouraged and use of the VR platform for that purpose should be further evaluated. This paper highlighted the generic concept of the application of virtual reality technique within the digital factory to industrial maintenance and to build a low-cost VR application for a training and maintenance system. An application case on virtual reality technique in a power plant operations and maintenance is demonstrated within the scope of this research. Overall research implications on virtual reality concept in industrial applications are concluded with future research directions.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

The 1st Advanced Manufacturing Student Conference (AMSC21) Chemnitz, Germany 15–16 July 2021

The Advanced Manufacturing Student Conference (AMSC) represents an educational format designed to foster the acquisition and application of skills related to Research Methods in Engineering Sciences. Participating students are required to write and submit a conference paper and are given the opportunity to present their findings at the conference. The AMSC provides a tremendous opportunity for participants to practice critical skills associated with scientific publication. Conference Proceedings of the conference will benefit readers by providing updates on critical topics and recent progress in the advanced manufacturing engineering and technologies and, at the same time, will aid the transfer of valuable knowledge to the next generation of academics and practitioners. *** The first AMSC Conference Proceeding (AMSC21) addressed the following topics: Advances in “classical” Manufacturing Technologies, Technology and Application of Additive Manufacturing, Digitalization of Industrial Production (Industry 4.0), Advances in the field of Cyber-Physical Systems, Virtual and Augmented Reality Technologies throughout the entire product Life Cycle, Human-machine-environment interaction and Management and life cycle assessment.:- Advances in “classical” Manufacturing Technologies - Technology and Application of Additive Manufacturing - Digitalization of Industrial Production (Industry 4.0) - Advances in the field of Cyber-Physical Systems - Virtual and Augmented Reality Technologies throughout the entire product Life Cycle - Human-machine-environment interaction - Management and life cycle assessmen

Enabling virtual assembly training in and beyond the automotive industry

Virtual assembly training systems show a high potential to complement or even replace physical setups for training of assembly processes in and beyond the automotive industry. The precondition for the breakthrough of virtual training is that it overcomes the problems of former approaches. The paper presents the design approach taken during the development of a game-based, virtual training system for procedural assembly knowledge in the EU-FP7 project VISTRA. One key challenge to address when developing virtual assembly training is the extensive authoring effort for setting up virtual environments. Although knowledge from the product and manufacturing design is available and could be used for virtual training, a concept for integration of this data is still missing. This paper presents the design of a platform which transfers available enterprise data into a unified model for virtual training and thus enables virtual training of workers at the assembly line before the physical prototypes exist. The data requirements and constraints stemming from industrial partners involved in the project will be discussed. A second hurdle for virtual training is the insufficient user integration and acceptance. In this context, the paper introduces an innovative hardware set-up for game-based user interaction, which has been chosen to enhance user involvement and acceptance of virtual training

Metodología de simulación paralela aplicada a sistemas multi-agente en entornos virtuales

Qualquier cambio de paradigma es indicador de que un cambio más profundo se está realizando a nivel tecnológico, cultural e incluso social. Cada salto de paradigma tiene una duración distinta, pero todos comparten algo: una vez el cambio ocurre, nada vuelve a ser como antes. El término “realidad virtual” lleva más de veinte años siendo profusamente utilizado y ya se ha integrado en nuestra cultura tecnológica. Pero su excesivo y a veces frívolo uso ha difuminado su significado, provocando desconfianza. Habitualmente se han aglutinado distintos conceptos bajo un mismo paraguas: juegos 3D, visión estereoscópica, video 360o, etc. En el camino de adaptación a este paradigma será necesario aclarar conceptos, acotar tecnologías, diseñar metodologías y sobre todo, aprender las nuevas reglas del juego según surjan y adaptarnos a ellas. El mayor problema encontrado en las primeras experiencias con la realidad virtual ha sido la inmadurez «hardware», pero si lo comparamos con otro cambio de paradigma como la tecnología móvil y observamos la evolución de los smartphones en los últimos diez años puede que esta inmadurez del hardware de realidad virtual no dure mucho más tiempo. En cualquier caso la realidad virtual no es únicamente un dispositivo físico: el software asociado es tan o incluso más importante. Suponiendo que el hardware RV siga su ciclo de vida habitual: modelos cada vez más asequibles, fabricación a gran escala y saturación del mercado, es más que probable que el hardware adelante en madurez al software. Parece por tanto lógico dejar a un lado el hardware, ya encaminado su desarrollo, y centrarse en las carencias que el software presenta en el entorno de la realidad virtual. Al estudiar dichas carencias aparecen grandes lagunas: falta de metodologías, de metáforas válidas, de estrategias de diseño, de software base, de arquitecturas y de modelos teóricos que las soporten. La presente tesis trata de, abstrayéndose de los problemas del hardware, identificar los problemas más importantes, plantear hipótesis para resolver esos problemas, presentar unas propuestas innovadoras que puedan solucionarlos y mostrar experiencias que refrenden dichas propuestas. Se propondrán metáforas y principios de diseño que creen espacios contextuales bien identificados para acabar con la terminología imprecisa, se plantearán modelos matemáticos abstractos para soportar taxonomías y arquitecturas específicas, se mostrarán metodologías prácticas para definir buenas prácticas promoviendo su uso en la comunidad software y se aportarán entornos de trabajo basados en inteligencia artificial idóneos para implementar soluciones.Any paradigm shift is indicative of a deeper change is taking place at the technological, cultural and even social level. Each paradigm jump has a different duration, but all share something: once the change happens, nothing is as it was before. The term «virtual reality» has been extensively used for over twenty years and has already been integrated into our technological culture. But its excessive and sometimes frivolous use has blurred its meaning, causing distrust. Usually, different concepts have been merged under one single umbrella: 3D games, stereoscopic vision, 360o video, etc. In the path of adaptation to this paradigm it will be necessary to clarify concepts, to limit technologies, to design methodologies and, most important, to learn and adapt to the new rules in play. The biggest problems found in the first experiences with virtual reality are about «hardware» immaturity, but if we compare it with another paradigm shift as mobile technology and observe the evolution of smartphones in the last ten years may be that virtual reality immaturity of won’t last much longer. But virtual reality is not just a physical device: related software is as important as hardware, or even more. Assuming VR hardware will follow the usual lifecycle: increasingly affordable models, large-scale manufacturing and market saturation, hardware is more than likely to grow in maturity quicker than software. So the logical next step is to leave aside the hardware, and focus on the shortcomings that the software presents in the VR environment. When studying this topic, large gaps arises easily: lack of methodologies, valid metaphors, design strategies, basic software, architectures and theoretical models. The present thesis deals with the problems of software, identifying the most important, proposing hypotheses to solve these problems, presenting innovative proposals that can solve them and show experiences that endorse these proposals. We will propose metaphors and design principles that create well-defined contextual spaces to eliminate imprecise terminology, abstract mathematical models to support specific taxonomies and architectures, practical methodologies will be shown to define good practices promoting their use in the software community and will be provided Artificial intelligence-based work environments suitable for practical solution implementation.Programa Oficial de Doctorado en Ciencia y Tecnología InformáticaPresidente: Antonio Berlanga de Jesús.- Secretario: Ángel Arroyo Castillo.- Vocal: Luis Usero Aragoné