SMC Smart Assets : la gestion des actifs à l'ère du numérique
In a move set to help shape the future of Industry 4.0, SMC is launching Smart Assets, a progressive project which will make the asset management requirements of both machine builders and end users fit for the digital age. With collaboration from leading academic and industrial partners, Smart Assets will ultimately lead to the automatic generation of dynamic and data-rich digital representations of all 700,000+ SMC products, helping companies to boost efficiency, interoperability and sustainability. The project will run until 2026.
Funded by the EUREKA Eurostars international funding programme, Smart Assets will see the creation of a standardised digital twin (digital representation of a physical object) for all SMC components. These digital twins will sit within the framework of the Asset Administration Shell (AAS), the so-called ‘universal digital twin’ that everyone can deploy. With this end goal, SMC and its customers will achieve full interoperability, with the digital twin of SMC components serving as a foundation for a multitude of industrial applications.
Major project partners include Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) in Switzerland, which provides cutting-edge research in the fields of artificial intelligence, mechatronics and digital twins. Also participating is Germany-headquartered OBJECTIVE PARTNER, a company known for its innovative approach to digital transformation, particularly in the context of Industry 4.0.
Industry gets smart
Among the core components of Smart Assets is the AAS - the cornerstone of data exchange in Industry 4.0 and de facto industry standard for digital twins. Leveraging the AAS ensures smooth data exchange between assets and IT systems, bringing digitalisation to every industrial asset. It facilitates real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance and proactive decision-making, ensuring companies can streamline operations, reduce downtime, improve maintenance and increase efficiency - all of which contribute to significant cost savings.
The AAS also serves as the carrier of relevant information for design improvements and acts as a basis for autonomous systems. In addition, it enables the co-operation of assets based on different technologies and negates the need for a Manufacturing Execution System (MES).
As a further benefit, the AAS is the ideal tool to fulfil upcoming mandatory requirements for the Digital Product Passport (DPP). Expected to be fully operational by 2032, the EU wants the DPP to act as a digital identity card that stores information about a product’s legal compliance, circularity and sustainability. Smart Assets plays a pivotal role in promoting responsible production, supporting the circular economy ambitions of the European Green Deal, a set of policy initiatives from the European Commission that aim to make the EU climate neutral by 2050.
Among unique aspects of the project is its use of the Automated AAS Generation Toolchain, which automates the creation of digital representations. This capability reduces the need for manual input, accelerates the process of digitising assets and ensures consistent data across the entire asset lifecycle.
Growth opportunity
Alessandro Grizzetti, SMC’s Project Leader for DPP and AAS, says: “Smart Assets equips SMC’s portfolio with industry’s standardised digital twin - the AAS - which means both machine builders and end users will find SMC the ideal partner for supporting their digital business strategies. The project’s ambition is to help companies expedite their engineering processes, reduce failures in the manual creation of master data and increase quality over the asset’s lifecycle. Ultimately, the benefits of Smart Assets will extend far beyond individual companies. With cross-sector adoption, the collective intelligence of interconnected assets will grow, creating wider opportunities for collaboration, innovation and sustainable development.”
Smart Assets builds upon SMC’s recent membership of the Industrial Digital Twin Association (IDTA), a consortium of companies from different industries that share the goal of a standardised digital twin. The AAS is the IDTA’s most important tool as it enables seamless and straightforward collaboration between the value chain’s many stakeholders and systems. The ultimate outcome? An industrial future with digital asset management at its heart.
10 déc. 2024
