Hypergraph-based analysis and design of intelligent collaborative manufacturing space

Abstract

A method for hypergraph-based analysis and the design of manufacturing systems has been developed. The reason for its development is the need to integrate the human workforce into Industry 4.0 solutions. The proposed intelligent collaborative manufacturing space enhances collaboration between the operators as well as provides them with valuable information about their performance and the state of the production system. The design of these Operator 4.0 solutions requires a problem-specific description of manufacturing systems, the skills, and states of the operators, as well as of the sensors placed in the intelligent space for the simultaneous monitoring of the cooperative work. The design of this intelligent collaborative manufacturing space requires the systematic analysis of the critical sets of interacting elements. The proposal is that hypergraphs can efficiently represent these sets, moreover, studying the centrality and modularity of the resultant hypergraphs can support the formation of collaboration and interaction schemes and the formation of manufacturing cells. A fully reproducible illustrative example presents the applicability of this concept.