Flexibility and reconfigurability of factories are the key enablers of their market adaptability. As the production facilities are getting more and more IT intensive, and software-intensive, in particular, the speed and quality of reconfiguration largely depends on the efficiency of changing the underlying software and ability of factory equipment to inter-operate, exchange software components between each other and interchangeably use hardware platforms of different vendors. In this talk, we will consider some solutions and experiences achieved at the Aalto Factory of the Future and LTU AIC-cube labs in the context of various European projects aligned with the Industry 4.0 effort. These include the use of wireless communication (including indoor 5G), AGVs, collaborative robotics, embedded microcontrollers, and novel software and IT technologies, such as OPC UA and IEC 61499.
Valeriy Vyatkin, Professor of Information and Computer Engineering in Automation at Aalto University, Finland on joint appointment as Chaired Professor (Ämnesföreträdare) of Dependable Computation and Communication Systems, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden. He has been leading research projects related to software and systems engineering for cyber-physical automation systems, intelligent energy, logistics and transportation, addressing such aspects as dependability, distributed architectures and multi-agent systems applied in various industry sectors: SmartGrid, material handling, building management systems and reconfigurable manufacturing, funded by the National Science Foundation (USA), Vettenskap Råd (Sweden), Academy of Sciences (Finland), various national and private agencies in Japan, Germany, New Zealand, Sweden, Finland and the EU.