Research · On the factory floor
Factories that plan, adapt and control production with data, and that are designed for repair and remanufacturing as well as for new production.
Changing a factory is slow and risky. Re-planning a layout, replacing equipment, adapting to a disruption or ramping up a new product all take more effort and carry more uncertainty than is competitive today. Digital twins and digital threads are used to analyse, plan and monitor industrial systems, but rarely to operate and control them, which would mean moving large amounts of data in real time.
This impact area works on factories that use both measured and synthetic data to analyse increasingly complex systems with lower risk and in shorter time, and that treat repair and remanufacturing as first-class production. Understanding the validity of the models and AI processes that act on the data is part of the work, so that upscaling is robust.
Track: Interactive layout planning
Interactive layout planning with production simulation fed by real production data, so that changes in products, volumes and equipment can be evaluated with lower risk before they are made.
Who: Scania, Saab, the Fraunhofer-Chalmers Centre and Industrial Path Solutions.
Track: Life-cycle repair and remanufacturing
Factories designed for repair and remanufacturing as well as for new production, with digital threads that carry inspection and usage data into highly automated, flexible repair processes. GKN Aerospace's repair processes are a direct case for circular material use.
Who: GKN Aerospace, Volvo, the Chalmers Systems Engineering Design group and RD&T Technology.
Track: Dynamic digital twins
Digital twins that operate and control industrial systems dynamically rather than only analyse, plan and monitor them. That means moving large amounts of data in real time, and knowing when the twin's model can be trusted to act.
Who: Volvo and RD&T Technology.
Track: Automated industrial processes
Highly automated, flexible manufacturing processes that absorb changes and disruptions, replaced and upgraded equipment, and new products, and reach optimal conditions quickly, built on precise, low-latency, accessible and secure data processing.
Who: Volvo, Hitachi Energy and Autoliv.
In the design office
Between design and factory
Overview