A Computer Science Perspective on Digital Transformation in Production

ACM Transactions on Internet of Things, vol. 3, pp. 1–32

Abstract

The Industrial Internet-of-Things (IIoT) promises significant improvements for the manufacturing industry by facilitating the integration of manufacturing systems by Digital Twins. However, ecological and economic demands also require a cross-domain linkage of multiple scientific perspectives from material sciences, engineering, operations, business, and ergonomics, as optimization opportunities can be derived from any of these perspectives. To extend the IIoT to a trueInternet of Production, two concepts are required: first, a complex, interrelated network of Digital Shadows which combine domain-specific models with data-driven AI methods; and second, the integration of a large number of research labs, engineering, and production sites as a World Wide Lab which offers controlled exchange of selected, innovation-relevant data even across company boundaries. In this article, we define the underlying Computer Science challenges implied by these novel concepts in four layers:Smart human interfacesprovide access to information that has been generated bymodel-integrated AI. Given the large variety of manufacturing data, newdata modelingtechniques should enable efficient management of Digital Shadows, which is supported by aninterconnected infrastructure. Based on a detailed analysis of these challenges, we derive a systematized research roadmap to make the vision of the Internet of Production a reality.

Authors 15

1. Philipp Brauner Aachen

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

2. Manuela Dalibor Aachen

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

3. Matthias Jarke Aachen

   Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University, Germany and Fraunhofer FIT, Germany

4. Ike Kunze Aachen

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

5. István Koren Aachen

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

6. Gerhard Lakemeyer Aachen

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

7. Martin Liebenberg Aachen

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

8. Judith Michael Aachen

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

9. Jan Pennekamp Aachen

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

10. Christoph Quix

    Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology · Hochschule Niederrhein

    Affiliation as printed

    Fraunhofer FIT, Germany and Hochschule Niederrhein, Germany

11. Bernhard Rumpe⋆ Aachen

    RWTH Aachen University

    Affiliation as printed

    RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

12. Wil M. P. van der Aalst Aachen

    Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology · RWTH Aachen University

    Affiliation as printed

    RWTH Aachen University, Germany and Fraunhofer FIT, Germany

13. Klaus Wehrle Aachen

    RWTH Aachen University

    Affiliation as printed

    RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

14. Andreas Wortmann Aachen

    University of Stuttgart · RWTH Aachen University

    Affiliation as printed

    RWTH Aachen University, Germany and University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany

15. Martina Ziefle Aachen

    RWTH Aachen University

    Affiliation as printed

    RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany