Implementing the Cognition Level for Industry 4.0 by Integrating Augmented Reality and Manufacturing Execution Systems

In the current industrial practices, the exponential growth in terms of availability and affordability of sensors, data acquisition systems, and computer networks forces factories to move toward implementing high integrating Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) with production, logistics, and services. This transforms today’s factories into Industry 4.0 factories with significant economic potential. Industry 4.0, also known as the fourth Industrial Revolution, levers on the integration of cyber technologies, the Internet of Things, and Services. This paper proposes an Augmented Reality (AR)-based system that creates a Cognition Level that integrates existent Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) to CPS. The idea is to highlight the opportunities offered by AR technologies to CPS by describing an application scenario. The system, analyzed in a real factory, shows its capacity to integrate physical and digital worlds strongly. Furthermore, the conducted survey (based on the Situation Awareness Global Assessment Technique method) reveals significant advantages in terms of production monitoring, progress, and workers’ Situation Awareness in general.