Perspectives on Manufacturing Automation Under the Digital and Cyber Convergence

Abstract

The evolution of industrial automation has been divided into four or five main cycles of “industrial revolutions,” also called “disruptive innovations” and “automation revolutions.” The most recent one, started around the 1990s and still on-going, points to the current perspectives envisioned for the twenty-first century and perhaps even beyond. In practice, however, it is difficult to comprehend the real value and impacts by the so called Digital Manufacturing, Smart Factory, Automation 5.0, or Industry 4.0. Furthermore, with frequent and rapid innovations, it is unclear how the emerging digital, smart, and cyber-augmented factories of the future can benefit from the digital and cyber convergence. Which are the dominant factors that motivate and justify the evolution of manufacturing through this current cycle? In this article, we review the relationships between digital, virtual, and cyber convergence, and recent manufacturing engineering challenges ranging from virtual enterprises to collaborative e-Manufacturing, and service orientation. We then point out new perspectives and opportunities for design and re-arrangement in production, highlighting the trend of fusion between knowledge, product, process, and service. The impact on methods of analysis, informatics, collaborative intelligence, and design of industrial systems is also analyzed under the new trends and achievements so far in digital and cyber convergence. With several case studies, we also illustrate the emerging challenges.