A cyber-physical framework to support ultra-flexible production (ULTRA)
For companies to stay competitive, resilient and sustainable in an ever-chaning world, extreme flexibility in the production processes is required to be adaptive and agile. The idea of this project is to develop a novel cyber-physical framework to realize ultraflexible, production, which is here understood as a highly modular and interconnected cyber-physical system, developing its operations in a system-of-systems context. Such system can be swiftly modified. In fact, constant change is seen as part of the normal operations of an ultra-flexible system.
This results in the possibility of moving equipment around to support new or alternative production processes, reconfiguring equipment in real time to as a reaction to production disturbances. Simultaneously, such changes should result in a system cyber-physical configuration that is optimal, given the circumstances, from a sustainability perspective.
The core of the framework will rely in the, now popularized, concept of Digital Twins which are understood, in this context, as: virtual dynamic representations of physical production resources and sub-systems.
Using the digital twins, the production system’s flexibility can be efficiently maximized both in the conceptual stages and in running production. From a technical perspective, the aim of the framework is to enable seamless integration between, and implementation of, digital twins in the production a concept that we call the cyber-physical continuum.
By realizing a cyber-physical continuum, the project will play a significant role in the cyber-physical transformation of the Swedish manufacturing industry and enable ultra-flexible production that improves competitiveness, resilience and sustainability.
Project leader
Anna Syberfeldt, University of Skövde
anna.syberfeldt@his.se
+46 733177108
Participating organisations
→ University of Skövde
→ Linköping University
→ RISE
→ Scania
→ Seco Tools
→ OpiFlex
→ FM Mattsson
→ Norrebo Träindustrier
