DnSPro: Sensor- und Informationsfusion für dezentral kooperierende sensorbasierende Subsysteme für Industrie-4.0-Produktionsanlagen

With the project of the future Industry 4.0 we now have the chance to raise the flexibility and the energy and resource efficiency of production processes to a new level by implementing intelligent control and networking. Electronics and sensor technology are crucial because they belong to the outstanding strengths of Germany’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Industry 4.0 applications require diverse sensor systems. In order to improve further the company processes, the sensor data are to be immediately and directly made accessible.

The project aims at creating a basis for intelligent Industry 4.0 production plants which are able to adapt quickly and flexibly to changing conditions with a significantly higher grade of availability. By the example of a filling process for any liquids we want to show the complex interaction between individual functional modules and the overall system. The plants should adjust autonomously to the product to be manufactured considering its characteristics and plant’s parameters. For this purpose, we integrate manifold sensory functions as well as intelligent autonomous self-diagnostics capabilities of the individual components and processes. We pay particular attention to guaranteeing continuous dynamic data security.

Due to decentralised control autonomously acting plant parts allow economical production, since they can be rapidly recombined when faced with changing production processes. By applying “smart” field devices plant parts are more and more conscious about their actual condition and even possible problems which may occur in future. Based on this principle, production of any sensor-actuator system becomes possible, as f. ex. the linking of flow, pressure, temperature and filling level sensors with valves and pumps.