The fourth industrial revolution requires higher capabilities of changeability and reconfigurability (C–R) of the future factories (FoF), as well as a higher focus on business models that are based on total-cost-of-ownership (TCO) paradigm. Up to date, there are little scientific contributions to deploy C–R into TCO models, as well as to systematic plan and design manufacturing resources such as to facilitate FoF ecosystem. In order to address this issue, this paper introduces research results that show how to deploy C–R, connectivity, smartness and TCO requirements into the technical solutions of manufacturing resources of FoF. Contributions emerging from this research include an index to measure C–R capability of manufacturing resources, a model to assess economic feasibility of a FoF over its lifecycle, as well as a methodology and related tools to design smart connected manufacturing resources with embedded features to facilitate changeability and reconfigurability in a FoF. Theoretical contributions are explained through a case study of a fast reconfigurable robotic manufacturing cell. Preliminary results demonstrate that it is possible to rapid design smart connected manufacturing resources and integrate them into FoF architectures that support convertibility, integrability, modifiability, adaptability, serviceability, scalability, integration of resources from various producers, service clustering and cloud-based services.

Capacity to remotely monitor and control systems for waste-water treatment and to provide real time and trustworthy data of system’s behavior to various stakeholders is of high relevance. SCADA systems are used to undertake this job. SCADA solutions are usually conceptualized and designed with a major focus on technological integrability and functionality. Very little contributions are brought to optimize these systems with respect to a mix of target functions, especially considering a lifecycle perspective. In this paper, we propose a structured methodology for optimizing SCADA systems from a lifecycle perspective for the specific case of waste-water treatment units. The methodology embeds techniques for handling entropy in the design process and to assist engineers in designing effective solutions in a space with multiple constrains and conflicts. Evolutionary multiple optimization algorithms are used to handle this challenge. After the foundation of the theoretical model calibrated for the specific case of waste-water treatment units, a practical example illustrates its applicability. It is shown how the model can lead to a disruptive solution, which integrates cloud computing, IoT, and data analytics in the SCADA system, with some competitive advantages in terms of flexibility, cost effectiveness, and increased value added for both integrators and beneficiaries.

In this paper, an overview and a demonstration for the vertical integration of manufacturing enterprise layers are described by implementing the manufacturing execution system (MES). In the first part of the paper, the details regarding the MES implementation are described, while in the second part, the use case-specific insights are highlighted. The presented use case contains each important step of a production line involving also a collaborative Baxter-type robot and the state-of-the-art tools for MES implementation. The cobot-involved use case is relevant and generic enough in the context of Industry 4.0 offering a good overview of a typical vertical integration use case which can be generalised and applied to manufacturing scenarios. The paper ends with the lessons learned from the vertical integration process as well as future direction which can be followed in such a context.

The ever increasing requirements for information being accessible at any time, from any place, regardless the type of remote device or planned operation, together with the need of complete control of a specific scenario or device has paved the way towards the next technological revolution: Internet of Things (IoT) and led to several major research projects. Within this paperwork the authors' vision regarding the architecture of an IoT network and an experimental testing bench for one of the first steps leading towards implementing the IoT vision is briefly introduced. The first part presents an overview of the Internet of Things. In the second part, authors' concept regarding an architecture for IoT and the vision towards implementation it into manufacturing environments are presented. The third part illustrates the implementation and testing of the chosen solution for connectivity between a smart equipment and Android compatible devices. In the last part, conclusions are highlighted and the roadmap regarding to concept implementation is defined.

Increasing environmental concerns together with the need for sustainable consumption and production gave birth to the concept of product service-system. This paperwork presents how the concept of product-service systems (PSS), also known as servitization, can increase performance within the value creation chain in the manufacturing environment by deployingits key features within smart manufacturing units to provide them withreconfigurabilityproperties. Highlights on how thekey feature of a product-service system can be used to enable the deployment of reconfigurability within smart manufacturing units towards achieving the concept of reconfigurable manufacturing systems are revealed in the first part of the paper.Considering the new economic models, the ever changing society needs and the effects of disruptive innovations, a business model for manufacturing environmentis further proposed. The business model deploys small scale reconfigurable manufacturing systems by means of smart manufacturing units, intelligent information management platforms, cloud computing services and Internet of Things. An experimental test bench is afterwards presentedin this context. Three similar manufacturing scenarios are considered and reproduced viaa mix ofsix smart manufacturing units and interfaces. The goal of these scenarios isto test the feasibility of servitization towards achieving reconfigurability of smart units.Several industrial equipment among which a dual-arm industrial robot, two electro-mechanical grippers, two electro-mechanical axes and two proximity sensors areintegrated with the embedded system to enable the deployment of PSS features. Also, how servitization is deployed within available smart units, their generic architecture and how they are interconnected is presented in the paper,together with advantages and constraints of the proposed experimental approach. The paper ends with conclusions, remarks regarding the experimental tests and further research directions

This article proposes a new, improved home-based cardiac telerehabilitation system enhanced by a robotic and Virtual Reality module for cardiac patients to be used in their rehabilitation program. In this study, a novel strategy was used to integrate existing equipment and applications with newly developed ones, with the aim of reducing the need for technical skills of patients using remote control. Patients with acute or chronic heart diseases require long-term, individualized rehabilitation in order to promote their motor recovery and maintain an active and independent lifestyle. This will be accomplished by creating a system for at-home cardiac telerehabilitation augmented by a VR and cobot systems, which can be used long-term at home by each individual patient. In the pre-feasibility study carried out on healthy volunteers familiar with software applications and robotic systems, we demonstrate that RoboTeleRehab could be technically feasible both hardware and software.