CYBER-PHYSICAL MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS – MANUFACTURIN G METROLOGY ASPECTS

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) are systems of collaborating computational entities which are in intensive connection with the surrounding physical world and its on-going processes, providing and using, at the same time, data-accessing and data-processing services available on the internet. CyberPhysical Manufacturing Systems (CPMSs), relying on the newest and foreseeable further developments of computer science, information and communication technologies on the one hand, and of manufacturing science and technology, on the other hand, may lead to the 4th Industrial Revolution, frequently noted as Industry 4.0. CPMS consist of autonomous and cooperative elements and sub-systems that are getting into connection with each other in situation dependent ways, on and across all levels of production, from processes through machines up to production and logistics networks. Modeling their operation and also forecasting their emergent behavior raise a series of basic and application-oriented research tasks, not to mention the control of any level of these systems. The fundamental question is to explore the relations of autonomy, cooperation, optimization and responsiveness. Integration of analytical and simulation-based approaches can be projected to become more significant than ever. One must face the challenges of operating sensor networks, handling big bulks of data, as well as the questions of information retrieval, representation, and interpretation, with special emphasis on security aspects. Novel modes of man-machine communication are to be realized in the course of establishing CPMS. The main goals of the paper are to discuss those approaches and milestones pointing towards the realization of Cyber-Physical Manufacturing Systems as well as to highlight some future R&D opportunities, especially in manufacturing metrology area.