Ready for Industry 4.0

With 15 demonstrators developed in four countries, the following research content was implemented in whole or in part:

• DCP –  Distributed Control Platform
• IIoT –  for vertical communication of the actors involved in the process (human and machine)
• MQTT – for efficient communication within the DCP (Distributed Control Platform)
• OPC UA – for the cross-manufacturer standardisation of communication interfaces for machines
• 5G – for robust, highly available, real-time wireless communication
• HMI/GUI – innovative control concepts via smartphone or tablet using a user-friendly, self-explanatory user interface
• Indoor Localization – to locate all participants of the process in the area and to each other
• PDR/ Wearable – merging indoor localisation data with other operator sensor data to make the localisation accuracy more robust and therefore safer
• Access Control - operators authenticate themselves in order to gain access to the innovative assistance functions in accordance with stored individual authorisation levels
• Cybersecurity - to ensure data integrity and IT security
• 3D-Tools – for mapping and optimising processes over the entire life cycle
• Digital Twin – for digital commissioning and process control via the digital twin
• Innovative Assist Functions
  • Come to me
  • Follow me
  • Follow machine
  • Go-To
  • Come to machine
  • Collision avoidance
  • Definition of “No go areas”

Advantages which can arise from OPTIMUM

• Safer working environment
• Optimization of processes and resources
• More efficient production planning
• Cost reduction
• Demonstrators are PoCs (Proof of concept) and serve as „teaser“ for potential customers
• Cost efficient innovations for standard machines
• Highly representable project
• Increased attractiveness of partners for future funded research, e.g. InnoSale (labelled), Machinaide, SmartDELTA (labelled), I-Delta, I2Panema ….
• Proofed consortium with proofed high ambition and excellent results

• April 2019         
  OPTIMUM Days at Konecranes in Hyvinkää, FL
• September 2019
  Customer Day and Open House at Demag
• January 2020
  Visit of German Federal Minister Svenja Schulze at Demag Research Factory
• June 2020
  Remake of Project Website & continuous updates  
• July 2020
  Digital Days Hannover Fair
• May 2021
  OPTIMUM part of NOKIA Webinar
• Continously
  Quick exploitations via e.g. newsletters / guided tours / social media / intranet reached 30.000 + persons

The consortium of the internationally funded research project OPTIMUM is made up of 17 partner companies from Germany, Turkey, Korea, Spain, Great Britain and Romania. Each partner brings great expertise and many years of experience in their respective field. This coherent and committed intermeshing of different expertise enabled the very successful implementation of the project goals. Demag is consortium leader for OPTIMUM.

OPTIMUM allows different types of machines from different manufacturers to communicate wirelessly and in real time with each other and with their operators. Localization & Context Awareness are important elements of OPTIMUM. These contents are basic prerequisites for the implementation of real smart factories to implement highly flexible, modular and efficient processes in the future. OPTIMUM also focuses on Cyber Security, the extension of 3-D engineering tools and the development of Digital Twins. It is expected that the results will be a pacemaker for Digital Manufacturing and Digital (Intra-)Logistics.

Since May 2019, Demag in Wetter has been hosting a research, implementation and validation environment for results from OPTIMUM with its newly built "Research Factory" which is also the home of the project demonstrator for the domain Material Handling / (Intra-)Logistics. Step by step, Demag becomes established in the worldwide Research Community and in May 2020 - supported by the Headquarters of Konecranes and triggered with regards to the Research Factory - started to found its own Research Department at Demag in Wetter, Germany.

Partner Companies

OPTimised Industrial IoT and Distributed Control

Industrial production processes are moving towards a new dimension characterized by "Digital Manufacturing" or "Industry 4.0" like initiatives. Several European initiatives are playing central roles towards that direction. In that context, supply chain optimization and integration into the overall workflow is a key issue towards efficient and flexible production satisfying individual customer's needs. Future concepts like component based and collaborative automation, as alongside the 4th industrial revo-/evolution, require much more distributed functionalities than those used today.

ITEA: Vision

In a rapidly changing society where societal challenges are omnipresent, digitisation is no longer an option but should be regarded as the opportunity to create innovative solutions. Digital technology will be applied in all aspects of society, touching every element of people’s lives. Software innovation is a core component for mastering this Digital Transition and this is the main focus of ITEA.

BEIA Consult International

BEIA brings experience in IoT systems and contributes with requirements from the point of view of a service provider in the electronics manufacturing and materials handling domain. Also, BEIA envisions to extend its IoT components with location & environment aware capabilities and integrate them into the IIoT platform.

Centre for Factories of the Future Ltd.

Main role of C4FF is to support the partnership in integration, validation and dissemination of project results. To this end, C4FF helps the partnership to produce, review dissemination materials with their native speakers and specialists in the subject to get the content right for the target group. C4FF provides support in integration, validation and demonstration of project outputs.

Comnovo GmbH

COMNOVO contributes to the location hardware and software solution based on their Ultra-Wideband Radio-Technology platform for indoor localization and distance measurement. COMNOVO’s localization components will be integrated into the demonstrator and adapted and implemented with regard to the requirements of the harsh process environment.

Demag Cranes & Components GmbH

Demag Cranes & Components (Demag) is one of the leading manufacturers of cranes, components and drive technology and thus one of the main industry driver in OPTIMUM. The company is acting as an end user and as a system integrator for complex crane applications. Demag intends to enhance components with distributed control and location aware capabilities and will develop specific assistance functions. New functionalities will give a chance to differentiate from competitors. Demag acts as project coordinator.

DIA

Since its foundation DIA has been providing SaaS solutions for Turkey ERP market and has developed Turkey's first cloud-based ERP solution. DIA contributes to enable the data collection from IIoT end nodes to the cloud. DIA is very experienced in designing UX considered UIs. DIA also contributes to the development of an end-user dashboard including reporting and configuration functionalities.

ERMETAL OTOMOTIV ve ESYA SAN. TIC. A.S.

Being an automotive part manufacturer, ERMETAL contributes; to define ERMETAL use cases regarding material handling and smart manufacturing domains and requirements according to project objectives as an end user; to merge ERMETAL use cases and other use cases submitted by other partners; to offer it’s knowledge and experience over years on operator safety; to prepare 3D models of it’s facility and to simulate it’s use cases using some engineering tools. ERMETAL presents applicability, benefits and industry integration of project results.

Erste Kurumsal Araştırma ve Yazılım Teknolojileri Ltd. Şti.

The main role of ERSTE is to contribute to the develop the IIoT platform and context-awareness functionality required by the project. ERSTE also contributes to project requirements and design of overall system architecture. ERSTE will also contribute to development of country pilot especially from IIoT perspective by exploiting project outcomes.

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute

Since its foundation in 1976, ETRI has been delivering Korea as one of the top ICT nations in the World by contribution to research and development of world’s first and best technologies in the field of Information, Communications, Electronics, Broadcasting and Convergence technologies. In OPTIMUM project, ETRI is leading work package related to dissemination and exploitation activities. Also ETRI is leading task related to framework specification and task related to industrial control communication interface.

Ezeris Networks Global Services SL

Ezeris is a cutting-edge, leading Internet of Things (IoT) platform provider dealing with solutions regarding connected devices based on a control dashboard, data analytics, management and visualization. Ezeris specializes in making it simple and cost-effective to Internet-enable devices and products for manufacturers, professionals and casual users. Ezeris contributes to the OPTIMUM project by developing a test solution that will be marketed as a software framework, license, and as a service.

HANDYSOFT Inc.

As a leading professional software company in Korea, HandySoft has been providing IoT platform and various innovative solutions in Korea as well as in Asia. It will contribute mainly to the architecture and interface design of the IIoT platform, development and system verification.

Institut für Automation und Kommunikation e. V. (ifak e.V.)

IFAK’s major contribution is dedicated to the design and adaptation of a distributed control platform to embedded controllers and the open framework for control application design. These works consider the integration of location, context awareness and security functions. Work is going on to specify interfaces supporting integration of IIoT platform services and real-time protocols. Further-on IFAK supports the development of assistance functions for crane applications and finally contributes to the industrial material handling demonstrator.

Magtel Operaciones S.L.U

MAGTEL supports the development of the platform for IIoT applied to manufacturing and material handling and development of Industry 4.0 and in design and implementation of the Distributed Control Platform which collaborates with IIoT platform.

NXP Semiconductors Germany GmbH

NXP develops security functions for embedded components, as secure communication plays an essential role in distributed control and application environments. Employing these functions in the runtime environment may enhance future communication platforms. So there are certain opportunities for NXP to further on sell products on the market.

SOTEC Consulting

SOTEC will contribute as major system integrator and IoT technology provider, mostly in WP6. It will ensure crystal-clear validation and different project yielded results integration.

tarakos GmbH

TARAKOS, as a software-supplier of factory planning and visualization tools, is experienced in 3D-modelling, 3D-simulation and 3D visualization. TARAKOS improves its software for visualisation by means of the results of OPTIMUM, especially modules for connections to distributed control systems and SCADA-Systems. TARAKOS adds new functions to their products which will assist users to plan innovative processes in IIoT-context and give users the chance to validate their solutions easily in the early project-phase. It will help to simulate and visualize the interaction between different material-handling objects (cranes, folk-lifts, conveyors). Special focus is on the planning and visualization of crane-systems.

Thorsis Technologies GmbH

Thorsis Technologies GmbH contributes to the derivation of the German "Material Handling" use-cases for the OPTIMUM project. This process, consists in particular in the identification of specific requirements for the use-cases as well as for the final system demonstrator, whose implementation is planned at project end. Furthermore, Thorsis provides its industrial expertise w.r.t. gateways for automation and industrial communication. Thorsis' gateway line - a set of modular products for heterogeneous industrial applications - is adapted during the project to fulfill the specified requirements with particular attention to aspects concerning security and reliable communication. With these new components, it is possible to connect the different parts (or subsystems) of the overall OPTIMUM-system in order to realize a functional IIoT-platform for manufacturing and material handling.

University of Rostock, Institute of Applied Microelectronics and Computer Engineering

University of Rostock contributes with its expertise in the development of new IP-based communication protocols, IoT-technologies and localization algorithms for wireless sensor networks. The university is advancing research in these areas and extends IP-based communication protocol with indoor geolocation capabilities. Research results gathered in the area of IP-networks on compactions, eventing and discovery are evaluated for reliability needs in the industrial use case. The University of Rostock publishes its results at conferences and in journals and software as open source.