Design, modelling, simulation and integration of cyber physical systems: Methods and applications

The main drivers for the development and evolution of Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) are the reduction of development costs and time along with the enhancement of the designed products. The aim of this survey paper is to provide an overview of different types of system and the associated transition process from mechatronics to CPS and cloud-based (IoT) systems. It will further consider the requirement that methodologies for CPS-design should be part of a multi-disciplinary development process within which designers should focus not only on the separate physical and computational components, but also on their integration and interaction. Challenges related to CPS-design are therefore considered in the paper from the perspectives of the physical processes, computation and integration respectively. Illustrative case studies are selected from different system levels starting with the description of the overlaying concept of Cyber Physical Production Systems (CPPSs). The analysis and evaluation of the specific properties of a sub-system using a condition monitoring system, important for the maintenance purposes, is then given for a wind turbine

Practical application of IOT and its implications on the existing software

The data management from end-to-end level is done by cloud-assisted IOT for its users and they keep a goal in increasing their number of users with the course of time. From saving the infiltration of data from both internal and external threats to the system, IOT is the best-proposed method used for securing the database. Connecting objects/individuals with the Internet via safe interaction is the main objective of IOT. It can assemble all the hardware devices that are designed to store data for an individual or an organization. The associated applications and the way in which it can be deployed in the present organization in order to optimize the current working system. This paper focuses on providing an overall systematic secured data sharing portal that is devoid of threats from internal as well as external entities. By using CIBPRE data encryption a major security reform is introduced by IOT in storing and sharing of data on a regular basis

Research Issues in Ad-Hoc Distributed Personal Networking

This paper discusses the research issues that need to be addressed in order to create a personal distributed environment where people interact with various companion, embedded, or invisible computers not only in their close vicinity but potentially anywhere. These systems are called personal networks (PNs). They constitute a category of distributed systems with very specific characteristics. They are configured in an ad hoc fashion, as the opportunity and the demand arise, to support personal applications. PNs consist of communicating clusters of personal digital devices, devices shared with other people and even infrastructure-based systems. At the heart of a PN is a core Personal Area Network (PAN), which is physically associated with the owner of the PN. Unlike the present PANs that have a geographically limited coverage, the Personal Operating Space, PNs have an unrestricted geographical span, and incorporate devices into the personal environment regardless of their geographic location. In order to do this they need the services of infrastructure-based networks and ad-hoc networks to extend their reach. A PN extends and complements the concept of pervasive computing. We show that PNs introduce new design challenges due to the heterogeneity of the involved technologies, the need for self-organization, the dynamics of the system composition, the application-driven nature, the co-operation with infrastructure-based networks, and the security hazards. We discuss the impact of these problems on network design, assess present and proposed solutions, and identify the research issues

Multiagent system integrating process and quality control in a factory producing laundry washing machines

Manufacturing companies are currently forced to reconsider their production processes by adopting more flexible, robust, and adaptive systems, aiming to improve their competitiveness. Multiagent systems (MASs) technology is suitable to address this challenge by providing an alternative way to design these complex systems based on the decentralization of the control functions over distributed entities. This paper describes the installation of a MAS solution in an industrial factory plant producing laundry washing machines. The installed solution focuses on the integration of quality and process control, and contributes to the maximization of the factory profitability facing changing conditions by applying self-adaptation procedures at the local and global levels. The preliminary results show improvements in the production efficiency and product quality, as well as a reduction of the scrap costs.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Robots in Industry. Past,present and future of a growing collaboration with humans

Robots have been part of automation systems for a very long time, and in public perception, they are often synonymous with automation and industrial revolution perse. Fueled by Industry 4.0 and Internet of Things (IoT) concepts as well as by new software technologies, the field of robotics in industry is currently undergoing a revolution on its own. This article gives an overview of the evolution of robotics from its beginnings to recent trends like collaborative robotics, autonomous robots, and human- robot interaction. Particular attention is devoted to the deep changes of the last decades, from the traditional industrial scenario based on isolated robotic cells up to the most recent coworking and collaborative robots. The role of robotics in the Industry 4.0 framework is analyzed, and the relationships with industrial communications and software technologies are also discussed. Some future directions for robotics are envisaged, focusing on the contributions coming from new materials, sensors, actuators, and technologies. Open issues are highlighted as well as the main barriers that currently limit the deployment of industrial robots in the small and medium enterprise (SME) world

Industrial robotics in factory automation: from the early stage to the Internet of Things

Robotics is a surprisingly old discipline, and robots have shaped industry and the various industrial revolutions for many decades. This paper covers topics relevant to the IES Technical Committee on Factory Automation, focusing in particular on the evolution of industrial robotics. After providing a historical perspective on the topic, the paper addresses current and future trends, revealing the close link between the progress in industrial robotics and the parallel evolution of industrial communication systems, which represent an enabling technology for modern industrial robotics.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

The concept of collaborative engineering: a systematic literature review

Collaborative engineering is not a new subject but it assumes a new importance in the Industry 4.0 (I4.0). There are other concepts frequently mismatched with collaboration. Thus, the main objective of this paper is to put forward a collaborative engineering concept, along its sub concepts, supported by an extensive systematic literature review. A critical analysis and discussion about the fundamental importance of learning, and the central human role in collaboration, in the I4.0, is presented, based on the main insights brought through the literature review. This study also enables to realize about the importance of collaboration in the current digitalization era, along with the importance of recent approaches and technology for enabling or promoting collaboration. Main current practices of human centered and autonomous machine-machine approaches and applications of collaboration in engineering, namely in manufacturing and management, are presented, along with main difficulties and further open research opportunities on collaboration.This work was supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia [UIDB/00319/2020, UIDB/50014/2020, and EXPL/EME-SIS/1224/2021]

6G Vision, Value, Use Cases and Technologies from European 6G Flagship Project Hexa-X

While 5G is being deployed and the economy and society begin to reap the associated benefits, the research and development community starts to focus on the next, 6th Generation (6G) of wireless communications. Although there are papers available in the literature on visions, requirements and technical enablers for 6G from various academic perspectives, there is a lack of joint industry and academic work towards 6G. In this paper a consolidated view on vision, values, use cases and key enabling technologies from leading industry stakeholders and academia is presented. The authors represent the mobile communications ecosystem with competences spanning hardware, link layer and networking aspects, as well as standardization and regulation. The second contribution of the paper is revisiting and analyzing the key concurrent initiatives on 6G. A third contribution of the paper is the identification and justification of six key 6G research challenges: (i) “connecting”, in the sense of empowering, exploiting and governing, intelligence; (ii) realizing a network of networks, i.e., leveraging on existing networks and investments, while reinventing roles and protocols where needed; (iii) delivering extreme experiences, when/where needed; (iv) (environmental, economic, social) sustainability to address the major challenges of current societies; (v) trustworthiness as an ingrained fundamental design principle; (vi) supporting cost-effective global service coverage. A fourth contribution is a comprehensive specification of a concrete first-set of industry and academia jointly defined use cases for 6G, e.g., massive twinning, cooperative robots, immersive telepresence, and others. Finally, the anticipated evolutions in the radio, network and management/orchestration domains are discussed

Middleware architectures for the smart grid: A survey on the state-of-the-art, taxonomy and main open issues

The integration of small-scale renewable energy sources in the smart grid depends on several challenges that must be overcome. One of them is the presence of devices with very different characteristics present in the grid or how they can interact among them in terms of interoperability and data sharing. While this issue is usually solved by implementing a middleware layer among the available pieces of equipment in order to hide any hardware heterogeneity and offer the application layer a collection of homogenous resources to access lower levels, the variety and differences among them make the definition of what is needed in each particular case challenging. This paper offers a description of the most prominent middleware architectures for the smart grid and assesses the functionalities they have, considering the performance and features expected from them in the context of this application domain