The Vision: Virtual to Support Real Operations

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It’s time to make the ideal of digital transformation a reality. Everyone seems to agree that is the path to manufacturing business success. Yet, not everyone knows how to proceed toward this digital future right now. 

Hint: Combine the new Industry 4.0 technologies such as digital twin and augmented reality (AR) with up-to-date versions of proven software systems, particularly manufacturing execution systems (MES). Or better yet, find systems that inherently do that for you. Then create ways to ensure these digital and virtual systems reflect and fully support your physical and real operations.

There are many new technology approaches to consider in Industry 4.0. Here, we will focus mainly on two: digital twin and augmented reality (AR) and point to a third, digital thread, which is more an ideal data flow and approach that ties other technologies together.

Digital twin is a digital replica of a physical entity. While common in product design, that is just one type of digital twin (Figure 1). In manufacturing, it’s the set of models and data about a product, asset, production line, or plant that is continually updated through its lifecycle. Using Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) data allows real-time updates to the virtual model based on what’s happening in the real system.

Augmented reality (AR), as defined by MESA International, is: “Adding a virtual layer of contextual information at the right time and in the right place (e.g., through devices such as Google Glass). Augmented reality is expected to help plant floor workers perform a variety of non-repetitive tasks faster, such as assembly, picking, maintenance, and others.” The virtuality-reality continuum is a way to understand the relationship between the virtual and real worlds (Figure 2). Notice that there are also various mixes of virtual and real, notably augmented reality.

Continue reading the rest of this article in the August 2023 issue of SMT007 Magazine.