ABSTRACT
Cyber-physical system (CPS) is a transformative technology for managing interconnected systems including both physical assets and computational capabilities (Baheti and Gill, 2011). The greater availability and affordability of sensors, data acquisition systems and computer networks, as well as the competitive nature of today’s industry, means more factories are implementing high-tech methodologies. The ever-growing use of sensors and networked machines has resulted in the continuous generation of high volume data or Big Data (Lee et al., 2013a; Shi et al., 2011). Cyber-physical systems have the potential to handle Big Data and leverage the interconnectivity of machines to reach the goal of intelligent, resilient and self-adaptable machines (Krogh, 2015; National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2013). Furthermore, by integrating CPS into their current production, logistics and service practices, factories could become Industry 4.0 factories, significantly boosting their economic potential (Lee and Lapira, 2013; Lee et al., 2013b). For instance, a joint report by the Fraunhofer Institute and the industry association Bitkom says that with the introduction of Industry 4.0, the German economy will be boosted by 267 billion euros by 2025 (Stadler, 2015). Table 3.1 compares current and Industry 4.0 factories (Lee, 2013). Comparison of Today’s Factory and an Industry 4.0 Factory
Data Source
Today’s Factory
Industry 4.0
Attributes
Technologies
Attributes
Technologies
Component
Sensor
Precision
Smart sensors and fault detection
Self-aware
Self-predict
Degradation monitoring & remaining useful life prediction
Machine
Controller
Producibility & performance
Condition-based monitoring & diagnostics
Self-aware
Self-predict
Self-compare
Uptime with predictive health monitoring
Production system
Networked system
Productivity & overall equipment effectiveness
Lean operations: work and waste reduction
Self-configure
Self-maintain
Self-organize
Worry-free productivity!
Source: From Lee, J. et al., A cyber-physical systems architecture for industry 4.0-based manufacturing systems, NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center on Intelligent Maintenance Systems (IMS), University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 2014.