Internet of Things (IoT) is becoming more and more part of our daily life. By connecting physical reality and virtual world into new smart environments, IoT is continuously evolving in innovative contents, areas of application, visions and technologies, hence contributing to make our lives easier, safer, more efficient and more user-friendly. Implementation of IoT in Industrial context is also known under the names of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) and is expected to contribute to EU manufacturing renaissance. Hence the market of components and technologies for implementation of Industry 4.0 functionalities in industrial equipment and plants is expected to boom (Machine-to-Machine connections across Europe will grow from 52 million in 2014 up to 190 million in 2020).
Global technology providers already offer I4.0 integrated technology platforms, providing hw, sw and connectivity solutions, useful to implement I4.0 functions. However, there is a market niche of small-medium sized Original Equipment Manufacturers who find unsatisfactory the adoption of these I4.0 integrated technology platforms because
(i) they require a drastic change in the control architectures of their equipment and therefore high re-design efforts,
(ii) they provide calculation and processing powers (typically based on PLCs or PCs) over-dimensioned with respect to the application requirements,
(iii) they imply an increase in costs of the equipment.
SWING project aims to meet the unattained needs of this market niche by offering a revolutionary industrial automation architecture based on a family of intelligent and interconnected devices to support power supply and electrical continuity functions. These innovative family of devices, that makes unnecessary to use PLCs or PCs to implement I4.0 paradigm, will be enhanced by remote control and preventive maintenance services delivered via a Web Platform, constantly enriched by innovative applications.
The specific technological and market objectives of the project are summarized as follows:
1) To provide a smart cost-effective connected power continuity system suitable to implement Industry 4.0 functions in Light Processing Power (LPP) applications produced by small-medium size OEMs.
2) To contribute to EU Manufacture Renaissance supported by Industry 4.0 paradigm implementation, by developing an innovative cost-effective technological platform for LPP applications implemented by small-medium size OEMs.
3) To increase the international competitiveness of ADELSYSTEM in the market of Industrial Control and Factory Automation.
