scholarly journals Implementation of a Machine Tool Retrofit System

Author(s):  
Alexander Dietrich ◽  
Ron Van de Sand ◽  
Jörg Reiff-Stephan

Small and medium-sized companies increasingly turning their attention towards the fourth industrial revolution. In order to increase their own long-term competitiveness, there is a growing desire to make production smarter, more efficient, safer and more sustainable through new technologies. Often, however, existing plants cannot be easily replaced by modern equipment. The reasons for this can be high investment costs, excessive downtimes or the unavailability of an equivalent machine. An alternative solution to the purchase of new equipment is the modernisation or expansion of existing systems, also called retrofitting. Thus, this paper deals with the retrofit process of a machine tool, whereby the software architecture of the control unit is the primary concern of this work.

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 505-525 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seeram Ramakrishna ◽  
Alfred Ngowi ◽  
Henk De Jager ◽  
Bankole O. Awuzie

Growing consumerism and population worldwide raises concerns about society’s sustainability aspirations. This has led to calls for concerted efforts to shift from the linear economy to a circular economy (CE), which are gaining momentum globally. CE approaches lead to a zero-waste scenario of economic growth and sustainable development. These approaches are based on semi-scientific and empirical concepts with technologies enabling 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) and 6Rs (reuse, recycle, redesign, remanufacture, reduce, recover). Studies estimate that the transition to a CE would save the world in excess of a trillion dollars annually while creating new jobs, business opportunities and economic growth. The emerging industrial revolution will enhance the symbiotic pursuit of new technologies and CE to transform extant production systems and business models for sustainability. This article examines the trends, availability and readiness of fourth industrial revolution (4IR or industry 4.0) technologies (for example, Internet of Things [IoT], artificial intelligence [AI] and nanotechnology) to support and promote CE transitions within the higher education institutional context. Furthermore, it elucidates the role of universities as living laboratories for experimenting the utility of industry 4.0 technologies in driving the shift towards CE futures. The article concludes that universities should play a pivotal role in engendering CE transitions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (21) ◽  
pp. 10448
Author(s):  
Riccardo Karim Khamaisi ◽  
Elisa Prati ◽  
Margherita Peruzzini ◽  
Roberto Raffaeli ◽  
Marcello Pellicciari

The fourth industrial revolution is promoting the Operator 4.0 paradigm, originating from a renovated attention towards human factors, growingly involved in the design of modern, human-centered processes. New technologies, such as augmented reality or collaborative robotics are thus increasingly studied and progressively applied to solve the modern operators’ needs. Human-centered design approaches can help to identify user’s needs and functional requirements, solving usability issues, or reducing cognitive or physical stress. The paper reviews the recent literature on augmented reality-supported collaborative robotics from a human-centered perspective. To this end, the study analyzed 21 papers selected after a quality assessment procedure and remarks the poor adoption of user-centered approaches and methodologies to drive the development of human-centered augmented reality applications to promote an efficient collaboration between humans and robots. To remedy this deficiency, the paper ultimately proposes a structured framework driven by User eXperience approaches to design augmented reality interfaces by encompassing previous research works. Future developments are discussed, stimulating fruitful reflections and a decisive standardization process.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 137-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucia Kohnová ◽  
Ján Papula ◽  
Nikola Salajová

Radical changes resulting from the Fourth Industrial Revolution strongly affect industrialized European countries. In particular, due to the new technologies that are characteristic of Industry 4.0, it will be essential for companies to make the necessary changes and achieve competitiveness through the implementation of these technologies. In order for companies to be able to make radical changes and innovations, they need to secure all the supporting areas in their organization. This research paper is focused on comparison of companies from Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria, Germany and Switzerland in the context of readiness for Industry 4.0. This research was part of a research project, while data were collected in the period of 2015–2016. We have analysed companies from selected countries based on 7 areas which are closely interconnected with the business transformation and technology transformation coming from Industry 4.0. The main analysed questions focused on areas such as employee education and training, organizational culture, strategy, or organizational processes, that will be most affected by radical changes in the environment. Research has highlighted the differences between countries as a result of long-standing cultural differences, but at the same time identified the unified influence of the ongoing global debate on the need for technological innovation. With Slovak and Czech companies being below stronger innovators in the maturity of education systems, we strongly advise considering partnering in education which can bring valuable information to businesses that want to take on the wave of innovation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 42-48
Author(s):  
Yulia Matyuk

The article analyzes the risks and new opportunities that arise before man and modern society in the light of the development of artificial intelligence and robotics in the conditions of the fourth industrial revolution. The rapid development of AI indicates the absence of uniform approaches to assessing the risks and prospects associated with the use of AI. Using PESTEL analysis, the article examines the key areas of interaction between AI and humans, new challenges and prospects that open to humanity in the era of new technologies.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Meier ◽  
Franz Tscheikner-Gratl ◽  
Christos Makropoulos

<p>As more and more computational power becomes available at increasingly affordable prices, the last years have seen a veritable explosion in the number of sensors and interconnected devices. This evolution is well known and often referred to as the 4th industrial revolution, or the IoT. The water sector, albeit often conservative in adopting new technologies, will profit from this continued digitalisation in various ways.</p><p>In this work we focus on the vision of covering entire sewer systems by tightly knit sensor networks which can process the generated amount of data simultaneously. Given the large number of sensors required, the only possibility to implement such a network is keeping costs as low as possible for the individual devices or use already existing sensors in multiple ways (e.g., traffic cameras helping in flood detection).</p><p>Using hardware of the Raspberry Pi ecosystem, currently retailing at less than 100$, we collected continuous video footage of an artificial open channel in a laboratory setting and used a deep neural network to extract the water level and surface velocity. The measurement accuracy of the prediction algorithm was then compared to conventional flow sensors to assess the practicality of this approach. Preliminary results in a laboratory setting indicate a sufficient prediction accuracy of the water level for engineering uses but further work is needed to verify this in a long-term field study.</p><p>After this initial stage, deploying the sensor in a real-world setting as part of the B-WaterSmart project is planned. Apart from verifying the results under real conditions, we will then be able to assess the long-term behaviour of this approach. This includes an evaluation of the maintenance effort. As the sensor is not in direct contact with the sewage, the typical need for frequent cleaning should be greatly reduced, which in turn is expected to further lower the costs.</p><p>We argue that if such a cheap sensor can ultimately be established as a viable alternative to more conventional flow sensors, the vision of sewer networks covered entirely by sensors, could become more attainable in practice.</p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 48-58
Author(s):  
Huy Minh Lam ◽  
Hue Thi Dang ◽  
Tien Nhut Le ◽  
Ngan Tuyet Huynh

With the development in the fourth industrial revolution, there have been urgent demands for new human resources in the world. The mission set for the education sector is to prepare students with skills and knowledge in line with global standards to keep up with the industrial age 4.0. Among the educational trends that serve the fourth industrial revolution, STEM education has been demonstrating its superiority through various studies. This study applies the STEMTech model, which connects the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics with a central technological factor, to create STEM products in the context of high schools in Vietnam recently. Firstly, the research trains students about STEM education, STEMTech model, and some new technologies; then divides the class into multiple groups of students to conduct a project based on STEMTech model; finally, surveys students. Statistical analysis was used to evaluate STEMTech model, whose results show that STEMTech model can engage students in learning, develop their creativity, and promote other competencies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-351
Author(s):  
Konstantin V. Blokhin

Article analyzes predictive estimates and concepts presented by the Western intellectual community, regarding prospects for development of new trends in the global economy, caused by the fourth industrial revolution. Author draws on a variety of sources, including reports from US think tanks, works by representatives of global financial and technocratic elite, and works by American intellectuals. Methodological basis of the study is a theory of the world system of I. Wallerstein, which allows to identify dynamic and conflicting lines of interaction between two geopolitical centers of the world - the United States and China. Based on an analysis of current trends, modern experts predict revolutionary changes in modern technologies that can decisively affect socio-political stability, not only in Western countries, but in developing countries as well. Author shows that the new technological structure is changing not only sector structure of the economy, but also has a strong impact on employment. According to American analysts, new technologies can destabilize socio-political stability in any country, especially in countries where cheap labor is a traditional tool. Robotization and automation of production can become a competitive advantage of the United States and Western countries in competition with China. Article notes that Russia is only at the very beginning of technological revolution, behind big five leading countries. Overcoming its lag in the field of AI and robotics requires adoption of comprehensive measures of economic, scientific and political nature. Ignoring realities of technological progress is fraught with increase in threats to national security.


2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. e9466
Author(s):  
Noemí Ortiz-Rey ◽  
Nicoleta González-Cancelas ◽  
Beatriz Molina Serrano ◽  
Francisco Soler-Flores ◽  
Alberto Camarero-Orive

The fourth industrial revolution is characterized by a high level of digitalization of systems and processes. This revolution has reached the Spanish ports. They have been investing for years in the implementation of new technologies, aimed at promoting sustainability and environmental quality, as well as seeking a more efficient and orderly logistics. Ports are moving towards their digital transformation, which is materialized in the well-known Ports 4.0. These intelligent ports, or Smart Ports, cover a multitude of aspects and variables. Automation, digitalization, technologies that allow interoperability, transparency, decentralization, and customer experience define the context of the application of the concept 'Ports 4.0' to the Spanish logistics-port sector. How to achieve a satisfactory digitization process that allows progress towards Port 4.0 in the Spanish port system is one of the questions being raised recently. The Spanish port world could be represented by a red ocean, since in a very generalist way it can be said that it is a marked described by a fierce competition lacking in differentiation. Therefore, with this proposal, the aim is to take the Spanish port system to a blue ocean, where a suitable strategy and innovation generate leaps in value that make competitors irrelevant because customers compare different products and services. To be able to respond to this, the Blue Ocean Strategy is planted, leaving aside the competition between ports and generating new demand. From the study carried out, it is concluded that Spanish ports still have a long way to go in terms of sustainability. It also concludes that a new management model would mean the innovation in value that is necessary for the process towards ports 4.0.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 169-174
Author(s):  
K. Voskovykh

This article determines that in the context of global digitalization, the competitiveness and sustainable development of companies depend on the speed of mastering new technologies. Assessment of the current level of the construction industry indicates its lag behind other industries. The aim of the study is to analyze the current level of digitalization of construction companies and summarize the constraining factors. The importance of continuous digitization of production and logistics, networking of autonomous smart objects or the use of self-learning systems in order to increase flexibility and optimize processes is emphasized. The main benefit of implementing digital business models is reducing the time it takes to make decisions, implement a project, and bring products to market. The factors holding back digital processes at the construction site are highlighted: a high proportion of manual production, over-regulation, dependence on the public sector and cyclical changes, the scale of the company. New technologies resulting from the fourth industrial revolution promise more efficient processes, greater time and cost savings, greater productivity and quality. The construction industry must catch up with other industries, because it also has to face the challenges of globalization, urbanization, climate change, resource scarcity, demographic change and other events that disrupt its sustainable development. Construction Site 4.0 promises improvements, but the fourth industrial revolution on the construction site is just beginning.


Lex Russica ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 53-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. G. Zhavoronkova ◽  
Yu. G. Shpakovskiy

The article considers the most general and most fundamental provisions of the concept of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and its consequences for ecology, energy, law. The author has analyzed the threats and challenges of digitalization processes for ecology and energy. It is shown that be the creation of an adequate environment of green technologies, products and services should provide the timely response to the great challenges of the 4th Industrial Revolution. It is proved that there will be no real progress in environmental security until economic growth, new technologies regardless of the form in which they are expressed and natural constraints and indicators of the “growth limit” of human expansion are connected and properly and necessarily linked to the pace of economic development. The authors have investigated the problems of strategic planning in the sphere of digitalization of ecological and energy spheres. The country has yet to develop common concepts suitable for strategic planning and to give each of these concepts a legal definition. To date, the lack of “coherence” of plans, responsibility and systematization of numerous normative acts (by-laws) on the basis of which federal and regional information resources are functioning is unacceptable. The article is aimed to develop legislation in the field of ecology and energy, development of legal mechanisms for the implementation of the program “Digital Economy of the Russian Federation” as well as improvement of enforcement practices.


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