Digital twin of experimental smart manufacturing assembly system for Industry 4.0 concept

This article deals with the creation of a digital twin for an experimental assembly system based on a belt conveyor system and an automatized line for quality production check. The point of interest is a Bowden holder assembly from a 3D printer, which consists of a stepper motor, plastic components, and some fastener parts. The assembly was positioned in a fixture with ultra high frequency (UHF) tags and internet of things (IoT) devices for identification of status and position. The main task was parts identification and inspection, with the synchronization of all data to a digital twin model. The inspection system consisted of an industrial vision system for dimension, part presence, and errors check before and after assembly operation. A digital twin is realized as a 3D model, created in CAD design software (CDS) and imported to a Tecnomatix platform to simulate all processes. Data from the assembly system were collected by a programmable logic controller (PLC) system and were synchronized by an open platform communications (OPC) server to a digital twin model and a cloud platform (CP). Digital twins can visualize the real status of a manufacturing system as 3D simulation with real time actualization. Cloud platforms are used for data mining and knowledge representation in timeline graphs, with some alarms and automatized protocol generation. Virtual digital twins can be used for online optimization of an assembly process without the necessity to stop that is involved in a production line. © 2020 by the authors.European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-CurieEuropean Union (EU) [734713]; Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic [FV20419]; Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic [VEGA 1/0700/20, 055TUKE-4/2020

Open source SCADA systems for small renewable power generation

Low cost monitoring and control is essential for small renewable power systems. While large renewable power systems can use existing commercial technology for monitoring and control, that is not cost-effective for small renewable generation. Such small assets require cost-effective, flexible, secure, and reliable real-time coordinated data monitoring and control systems. Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) is the perfect technology for this task. The available commercial SCADA solutions are mostly pricey and economically unjustifiable for smaller applications. They also pose interoperability issues with the existing components which are often from multiple vendors. Therefore, an open source SCADA system represents the most flexible and the most cost-effective SCADA solution. This thesis has been done in two phases. The first phase demonstrates the design and dynamic simulation of a small hybrid power system with a renewable power generation system as a case study. In the second phase, after an extensive study of the proven commercial SCADA solutions and some open source SCADA packages, three different secure, reliable, low-cost open source SCADA options are developed using the most recent SCADA architecture, the Internet of Things. The implemented prototypes of the three open source SCADA systems were tested extensively with a small renewable power system (a solar PV system). The results show that the developed open source SCADA systems perform optimally and accurately, and could serve as viable options for smaller applications such as renewable generation that cannot afford commercial SCADA solutions

A testbed for teaching Industrial Automation 4.0

Capstone Project submitted to the Department of Engineering, Ashesi University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering, April 2019This paper explores the current flaws of the undergraduate syllabi treating Industrial Automation and Control. It elaborates on the disparities between the current syllabi and what is used in Industry; particularly the current trend of Industrial Automation. It looks at the effect of not meeting this trend in Industry and thus offers a solution in the form of another curriculum, which incorporates concepts of Industrial Automation 4.0 which are necessary for the workplace. It uses the core topics of this syllabus to build a testbed to help familiarise students with how all these concepts work together. This testbed is simply a system to monitor and control the temperature and the flow of water between two containers using a programmable logic controller and an AC Drive. It concludes with the limitations of the curriculum and concepts which could be used to expand the curriculum further to facilitate other topics which are used in Industry.Ashesi Universit

Monitoring Of Remote Hydrocarbon Wells Using Azure Internet Of Things

Remote monitoring of hydrocarbon wells is a tedious and meticulously thought out task performed to create a cyber-physical bridge between the asset and the owner. There are many systems and techniques on the market that offer this solution but due to their lack of interoperability and/or decentralized architecture they begin to fall apart when remote assets become farther away from the client. This results in extreme latency and thus poor decision making. Microsoft\u27s Azure IoT Edge was the focus of this writing. Coupled with off-the-shelf hardware, Azure\u27s IoT Edge services were integrated with an existing unit simulating a remote hydrocarbon well. This combination successfully established a semi-autonomous IIoT Edge device that can monitor, process, store, and transfer data locally on the remote device itself. These capabilities were performed utilizing an edge computing architecture that drastically reduced infrastructure and pushed intelligence and responsibility to the source of the data. This application of Azure IoT Edge laid a foundation from which a plethora of solutions can be built, enhancing the intelligence capability of this asset. This study demonstrates edge computing\u27s ability to mitigate latency loops, reduce network stress, and handle intermittent connectivity. Further experimentation and analysis will have to be performed at a larger scale to determine if the resources implemented will suffice for production level operations

A Redundant Zigbee Communication Mechanism for Avoiding Collision in a Monorail System

The safety of machines plays an important role in an automation system. The accident of transportation system leads to delay or complete blockage of production which leads to loss. In time-sensitive production, it could lead to a defective product. To avoid such accidents collision avoidance mechanisms where implemented. The collision avoidance mechanisms are made of using sensors and by sharing status between themselves. The monorail system is an overhead transportation system which consists of a rail in which few monorail carriers run. The rail is a closed loop and the carriers run in one direction in the rail. The carriers are controlled by the floor programmable logic controller (PLC) which orchestrates the movement of the carriers through the primary Wi-Fi communication between them. The main task was to implement a collision avoidance mechanism which should act when the Wi-Fi communication between the carrier and the floor PLC fails. This collision avoidance mechanism prototype is done using internet of things (IoT) devices. The IoT is a fast-growing technology with a purpose of connecting any physical devices into a network. In that network the data from the physical device can be processed or shared with similar devices. In this thesis the background information of the monorail transfer system is studied, and the major components used are explained. The different methods of wireless communications were checked, and a suitable wireless communication is chosen for the collision avoidance system. Using an IoT device the PLC of the monorail carrier is connected to IoT network which is used to communicate between other carriers. By communicating using the secondary IoT network, the carriers share their position information which results in collision avoidance. In this case not only avoiding collisions but also the carrier is moved to the maintenance position by the IoT device when it blocks the path of the neighboring carrier. A prototype was built and it was tested on the test platform, and the necessary changes were made to make it fully functional. A simulator is created to show the working logic after the test platform became unavailable. The IoT collision avoidance mechanism can also be used for controlling the carriers when the floor PLC is down or as a test platform to trigger the functions of the carriers. With some additional PLC programs for secondary control this mechanism could also be used as a secondary control to the floor PLC for the carriers

The use of Sensor Networks to create smart environments

Internet of Things is taking the world in order to be the next big thing since the Internet, with almost every object being connected to gather data and allow control through mobile and web devices. But this revolution has some barriers with the lack of standardization in communications or sensors. In this dissertation we present a proposal of a system dedicated to creating smart environments using sensor networks, with a practical application developed to achieve automation, efficiency and versatility, allowing real-time monitoring and remote control of any object or environment improving user experience, tasks efficiency and leading to costs reduction. The developed system, that includes software and hardware, is based on adaptive and Artificial Intelligence algorithms and low cost IoT devices, taking advantage of the best communication protocols, allowing the developed system to be suited and easily adapted to any specification by any person. We evaluate the best communication and devices for the desired implementa tion and demonstrate how to create all the network nodes, including the build of a custom IoT Gateway and Sensor Node. We also demonstrate the efficiency of the developed system in real case scenarios. The main contributions of our study are the design and implementation of a novel architecture for adaptive IoT projects focus on environment efficiency, with practical demonstration, as well as comparison study for the best suited communication protocols for low cost IoT devices.A Internet of Things está a atingir o mundo de modo a tornar-se a próxima grande revolução depois da Internet, com quase todos os objectos a estarem ligados para recolher dados e permitir o controlo através de dispositivos móveis. Mas esta revolução depara-se com vários desafios devido à falta de standards no que toca a comunicações ou sensores. Nesta dissertação apresentamos uma proposta para um sistema dedicado a criar ambientes inteligentes usando redes de sensores, com uma aplicação prática desenvolvida para oferecer automação, eficiência e versatilidade, permitindo uma monitorização e controlo remoto seguro em tempo real de qualquer objecto ou ambiente, melhorando assim a experiência do utilizador e a eficiência das tarefas evando a redução de custos. O sistema desenvolvido, que inclui software e hard ware, usa algoritmos adaptáveis com Inteligência Artificial e dispositivos IoT de baixo custo, utilizando os melhores protocolos de comunicação, permitindo que o mesmo seja apropriado e facilmente adaptado para qualquer especificação por qualquer pessoa. Avaliamos os melhores métodos de comunicação e dispositivos necessários para a implementação e demonstramos como criar todos os nós da rede, incluindo a construção de IoT Gateway e Sensor Node personalizados. Demonstramos também a eficácia do sistema desenvolvido através da aplicação do mesmo em casos reais. As principais contribuições do nosso estudo passam pelo desenho e implemen tação de uma nova arquitectura para projectos adaptáveis de IoT com foco na eficiência do objecto, incluindo a demonstração pratica, tal como um estudo com parativo sobre os melhores protocolos de comunicação para dispositivos IoT de baixo custo

Named Data Networking in IoT based sensor devices

In a world running on a “smart” vision, the Internet of Things (IoT) progress is going faster than ever. The term “things” is not just about computer, people and smartphone, but also sensors, refrigerators, vehicles, clothing, food and so on. Internet of Things is the possibility to provide an IP address for every item, so it will have an interface on the Internet network. The household devices will not just being commanded and monitored remotely then, but they will have an active main character role, establishing a communication network between them. The thesis will begin describing a general overview, the state of art, of the IoT world and of sensors networks, checking its potential and any restrictions, if present. Then, every engineering aspect of the realized project, will been described in detail. This thesis will also prove that nowadays we have the right items and components for the realization of reliable low-cost sensors. The ultimate purpose is to verify the introduction of new network protocols like NDN (Named Data Networking) to evaluate their performances and efficiency. Finally I will propose the simulations output obtained by NS3 (Network Simulator): a scenario simulation using NDNSim and ChronoSync application will be present

Electroplating process plant automation and management using emerging automation and communications technologies

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Wolverhampton for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.The Electroplating (EP) process industry is currently facing some challenging process control problems in their production plant due to an insufficient level of automation being applied in the industry; the control is largely manual, and the monitoring of both plant and processes is ad hoc. The requirement for higher production volumes, tighter product tolerances, and the eagerness for better quality with lower cost are forcing the electroplating Companies to automate their processes and develop more responsive process and plant monitoring and control systems. Emerging Automation and communications technologies have now made it possible to effectively implement distributed control system (DCS) based control architecture with hybrid (wired/wireless) communication networks in the industry for achieving both process automation and plant management, offering various advantages such as for real-time process plant monitoring and control, plant visualization and provision of management information for control of production throughout the plant. Electroplating process industries comprising plants with numerous process stages and production operations will particularly benefit from implementing DCS where individual process stages and functions are distributed into computing nodes (i.e., control computers and smart devices) that are physically separated; and all the computing nodes are interconnected by advanced hybrid (wired/wireless) communications networks. The introduction of less expensive and more functional microprocessors has advanced the state of the art in distributed control system technology. This research aims to develop an integrated advanced process monitoring and plant management system for an electroplating industry using emerging automation and communications technologies.University of Wolverhampton and Leonardt Ltd

Smart Home Solutions Using Wi-Fi-based Hardware

Home automation technology has been increasingly important in our lives, since it offers numerous advantages, e.g., greater comfort, safety, security and energy efficiency. A smart home automation system usually includes a central computer with deployed home automation software and several distributed sensors and actuators. Wired connections between a central computer and sensor/actuator nodes are already well established, however, wireless solutions are an emerging trend. This work addresses smart home automation solutions that are based on wireless Wi-Fi network. Such solutions enable an upgrade of an existing house into a smart house without modifications of hardware installations. The article includes an overview of related works in this research field, and a case study of cost effective home automation solution that is based on open source home automation software and wireless, custom developed, Wi-Fi based hardware