Distributed Smart Measurement Architecture for Industrial Automation

TL;DR

This paper presents a distributed smart measurement architecture for industrial automation that integrates hardware and software components, enabling local data processing and interoperability within cyber-physical systems.

Contribution

It introduces a novel hybrid data processing solution that simplifies deployment and promotes standards-based interoperability in industrial automation environments.

Findings

Successful deployment in an aerospace industry use case

Enhanced local data collection and processing capabilities

Improved system interoperability and integration

Abstract

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) employed for Industrial Automation often require the adoption of a hybrid data processing approach mediating between cloud, edge, and fog computing paradigms. Nowadays, it is possible to shift data pre-processing capabilities closer to data sensing to collect environmental measurements locally on the edge or deep edge. In line with the emerging computing paradigms, this work proposes a solution that includes both software and hardware components and which simplifies the deployment of smart measurement systems. The solution stresses also the adoption of standards and open data paradigms for simplifying the integration and ensuring the interoperability of all the systems involved. The distributed smart measurement solution has been adopted in an Industry Automation use case included in the project Cyber-Physical Systems for Europe (CPS4EU). The use case attains with monitoring of an industrial trimming machine operating in the production process of a big part of a civil aircraft, where the sensing and processing capabilities of the distributed smart measurement system allow to collect different parameters of work parts to satisfy the expected quality of the production process.