Technologies for Smart Factories

The factories of the future need to deal with competitive pressures and incorporate new technologies, applications and services. Digital industrial platforms address this need by providing the means to integrate different technologies, take data from the shop floor and the supply network, make it accessible to monitoring and control applications, and allow the development of complementary applications.

Data plays a key role in this transformation, but also poses significant challenges. Manufacturing facilities will need to be digitally connected with external partners in the value chain, so it is important to guarantee an adequate level of security without limiting the capability to exchange data and information both on the manufacturing floor and beyond the factory.

IDIR identifies several challenges in the sector, including privacy, security, dependability, cognitive abilities, user interaction, ubiquity, robust connectivity, governance and, of course, the need to provide quality of service. The smart factory of the future is connected, with connected mobility, smart cities, connected industry, connected enterprise and connected life. Our research in the field focuses on:

• Secure Data Fusion & Integration in Cyber-Physical Systems
• Smart Grids and Next-Gen Electricity Distribution
• Energy-Aware Infrastructure
• Industrial Control Systems and Robotics