The production will be increasingly supported by IT and electronics and monitored by a variety of sensors. This allows a process-oriented and largely automated production. By ever more integration of software, Internet and electronic equipment into a common data infrastructure, so-called cyber-physical systems, new challenges arise.

At this point, Odysseus cannot only used to monitor the production and to perform detection of deviations, but can, for example, enrich current information of the production process with additional information, for example, from the ERP system or the Internet. Thus, the manufacturing process can be adapted to new circumstances that are not directly caused by the production.

Control of the production through flexible and easily customizable processing that is allowed by queries in Odysseus, the manufacturing process can be quickly adapted to new products. This allows, for example, an individual production or manufacture of smart products, where the products themselves specify how they are produced. Also the connection of various sensors, actuators, devices and data sources can be accomplished by Odysseus flexible access framework.

Some Advantages of Odysseus

• Use of existing sensors and actuators, and easy integration
• Combination with data from different sources
• Real-time monitoring of production
• Formulation and identification of alarm conditions or production errors
• Active control and adjustment of the production process
• Adapting for the Future due to the extensibility and adaptability
• High flexibility and adaptability to new environments
• Integration of standards such as OPC UA possible

Manufacturing 4.0 and Smart Factory

The manufacturing industry of the future is often called as Manufacturing 4.0. The core is the intelligent factory - so-called Smart Factory. The aim is to connect all involved actors, devices and resources of the manufacturing. All sensors and actuators provide their information as a service, which merges physical and information into a cyber-physical system.

Products as well as external resources take part of the production. A product is identified at any time and knows his history. Production errors or customer complaints can be investigated much more efficient.

Through the service-oriented architecture and flexible adaptability to new circumstances, Odysseus is the ideal base for the Smart Factory. Both complex and simple events can be exchanged between different machines, the products or the resources and visualized as an overview to people.