CONCEPT
ZDMP aims at providing an extendable platform for supporting factories with a high interoperability level to cope with the concept of connected factories to reach the zero defects goal. In this context, ZDMP will allow end-users to connect their systems (i.e. shopfloor and ERP Systems) to benefit from the features of the platform. These benefits include products and production quality assurance among others.
The concept of ZDMP can be simplified to a feedback and control system found in areas ranging from human/autonomous driving through to electronics. Steering the system will be the ZDMP apps composed using the projects SDK and different components. Broadly these receive (and present/actuate) information from sensors/APIs and then process the data.
Influencing this are material and process flaws as well as errors which create defects. This data is consumed by process and product analytics services which in turn feeds back to the apps to complete the cycle reiterating until the system is optimised and Zero Defects product is achieved. ZDMP is that platform and is thus a suite of components that deploys and enables the ecosystem:
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To build applications that monitor, manage, and control connected devices
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To collect and analyse data from connected devices.
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To enable secure connectivity and privacy between devices and throughout the platform.
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To manage interconnectivity from device/sensors, to machines, to factories, to partners
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To offer core API services to facilitate use.
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To allow integration with 3rd party systems/services and provide interoperability with other platforms.
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To automate and provide services for the intelligent Zero Defects ecosystem of the platform.
In addition, it is important that several non-functional elements are met:
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Relative dependence from the domain of application.
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Sustainability of not just technology but the business model in terms of commerciality.
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Embracing crowd participation and to expose its functions and features to the crowd for them to explore, implement, and expand both the solutions available and the ecosystem .
On the other hand, the ZDMP Platform will provide the possibility to extend its features using a dedicated applications store where end users will add these applications as extensions to the platform according to their needs. Users can also request new applications and software/hardware developers can use the ZDMP SDK (Software Development Kit) to build new Apps for them quickly using the projects toolkit and platform components.
In terms of the usability of other research projects, ZDMP will reuse outcomes/concepts of the research project such as Cloud Collaborative Manufacturing Networks (C2NET), Cloud-based Rapid Elastic Manufacturing (CREMA), and especially Virtual Factory Operating System (vf-OS) which already includes more generic SDK/App building concepts. Focusing on the Zero Defects concept, ZDMP aims at supporting both process and product quality assurance in dedicated workstreams. In addition, ZDMP will focus on the integration activities and develop suitable kick-start applications for 4 domains pilots as well as shape the holistic environment. In this regard, the following concepts or features will be addressed:
