A GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE FACTORY

In an exclusive interview, AUTOMATED’s Jonathan Wilkins meets Prof. Detlef Zühlke, who has been heading the research area of Innovative Factory Systems at the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern in Germany since 2009.

AUTOMATED: How would you define Industry 4.0?

Zühlke: Industry 4.0 is the application of the Internet of Things (IoT) in the factory domain. It means linking all factory objects into a network based on Internet technologies. The result is that all objects, like machines and products - but also humans - become smart elements in a production process. Furthermore, this will affect the whole product life cycle, from design and engineering to logistics and after sales or service.

AUTOMATED: The concept was introduced internationally at the Hannover Messe in 2011, almost four years ago. How would you say it has evolved since then and what recent developments are you aware of in terms of practical applications of Industry 4.0?

Zühlke: The Industry 4.0 concept started as a revolutionary vision. Over the years the vision developed towards real products and applications. At this year's Hannover Fair, several companies presented Industry 4.0 compatible products, which customers can buy and thus participate in the vision. Also, many companies have installed “target teams” with the task to identify the most fruitful application areas and prepare the way for a fully realised use of Industry 4.0.

AUTOMATED: What are the main benefits Industry 4.0 can bring for manufacturers?

Zühlke: Industry 4.0 is based on well-known internet standards, so compatible products may become cheaper to produce and more universal in application. Furthermore, by following the idea of service orientation and “black box modularisation” an authentic plug ´n play feature – like with a PC printer- will be possible, resulting in reduced engineering effort.

AUTOMATED: What do you think are the technical requirements for manufacturers who would like to transition to Industry 4.0?

Zühlke: Firstly, products must have the capability to communicate via the internet. Secondly, the real fruits will be harvested by appropriate integration in engineering support. Products should be represented by abstract models, which can be imported and used in product lifecycle management (PLM) systems. These models include computer aided design (CAD) and generic product data (as they do today) but also communication, service and energy models.

AUTOMATED: To what extent can existing automation equipment be used in an Industry 4.0 environment? Would you say companies need to completely update their automation systems or can the transition be a smooth and gradual one?

Zühlke: The greenfield approach is a mostly unsuccessful business model for new technologies. Therefore, we must determine evolutionary roadmaps into the new Industry 4.0 world.

Because Industry 4.0 is a network vision, the network is the essential base technology. A single Industry 4.0-compatible product will not help customers and will not improve a manufacturing line in terms of higher productivity.

Our SmartFactory-KL association is successful because we offer the network in which users and suppliers can work together to identify the need and design products. The first application level of Industry 4.0 will be new production lines, but these can still work in traditional factory environments.

AUTOMATED: What are the main barriers or challenges when implementing an Industry 4.0 solution?

Zühlke: First we need worldwide standards. On the communication levels these will be the well-known Internet standards like IEEE.xxx and TCP/IP; on the upper levels OPC unified architecture (UA) seems to be the leader of the race. Above all we still need standards to enable interoperability of different groups of equipment. Here, there is still a lot of work to be done.

Secondly, the internet technologies must be improved in terms of being reliable in factory environments (power over Ethernet, network speed, sturdy industry connectors).

Thirdly, the internet is an open technology offering open “doors” to nearly everyone. But companies need network/data security to prevent unwanted contamination of their networks.

AUTOMATED: What do you think the future holds for Industry 4.0? When do you think we will see the first practical applications of the concept used in industry?

Zühlke:As we can see with the first products being developed, regular application is coming closer. I expect several companies will install Industry 4.0 production equipment in the next few months; first to gain experiences with this new technology but then to really enhance productivity and flexibility. A broader application is still at least five to ten years away.

AUTOMATED: Which industrial sectors do you think will lead the way when it comes to Industry 4.0 and which do you expect to lag behind?

Zühlke:Industries that will benefit the most are those that already have modular mechanical systems and are under pressure to fulfil customer requirements in ever shorter times. Examples are the packaging industry or in assembly of complex products. At the end of the line I see steel mills and similar plants.

AUTOMATED: What other cutting-edge technologies should industry be on the lookout for?

Zühlke:3D printing is a disruptive technology that has the potential to drastically change production in many fields.

AUTOMATED: On a more light-hearted note, we always have one fun question for our interviewees at the end of the discussion. Who is your favourite tech hero?

Zühlke:Steve Jobs – a real visionary and courageous ruler accepting ups and downs, but not mediocrity.