A cyber-physical framework to support ultra-flexible production

Purpose and goal:

The project aims to develop a new cyberphysical framework for realizing extremely flexible production, based on a system-by-system concept. The core of the framework is based on the concept of digital twins, with the help of which the flexibility of the production system is effectively maximized both in conceptual stages and in operation. By realizing a cyber-physical continuum, the project intends to play a significant role in the cyber-physical transformation of the Swedish manufacturing industry, and enable improved competitiveness, resilience and sustainability.

Expected results and effects:

Through the project´s solutions, production systems can be constantly changed and modified as part of the normal operation, and thereby ultraflexibility is achieved. An ultra-flexible production system has the ability to move equipment dynamically to support new products and processes, and to automatically reconfigure equipment in real time. Furthermore, the framework enables seamless integration between, and implementation of, digital twins for production units and production systems - a concept we call the cyberphysical continuum.

Approach and implementation:

The project is organized into ten work packages: (1) Project management, (2) Cyber-physical reference architecture, (3) Digital twin reference architecture, (4) Machine learning algorithms, (5) Framework development and implementation, (6) Business values through a cyber-physical continuum, (7) Demonstrators, (8) Industrial test cases, (9) Evaluation and analysis, and (10) Dissemination and exploitation of results