A production interface to enable legacy factories for industry 4.0

Abstract

Due to the recent pandemic, our factory operations have experienced significant setbacks, prompting the need for factory automation to maintain productivity. However, most of our factories rely heavily on human input and oversight and cannot operate remotely. Automating our factories has revealed technological gaps that fall short of our expectations, needs, and vision. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to bridge this gap by introducing practical methodologies and applied technology that can enhance legacy factories and their equipment. Our proposed solution is the ORiON Production Interface (OPI) unit, which can function as a smart networked edge device for virtually any machine, allowing the factory to operate efficiently. We have incorporated various computer vision algorithms into the OPI unit, enabling it to autonomously detect errors, make decentralized decisions, and control quality. Despite the concept of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) being known, many machines in use today are closed source and unable to communicate or join a network. Our research offers a viable solution to implement Industry 4.0 in existing factories, and experimental results have demonstrated various applications such as process monitoring, part positioning, and broken tool detection. Our intelligent networked system is novel and enables factories to be more innovative and responsive, ultimately leading to enhanced productivity. All manufacturing companies interested in adopting Industry 4.0 technology can benefit from it, and the OPI, being an IoT device, is also an appealing option for developers and hobbyists alike.