# Automation and Robotics Pilot Lines in the Context of Industry 5.0
## 5 Discussion  
Throughout this article, many of the advantages of pilot lines have been presented, and even some disadvantages have been detailed. This section aims to review these advantages and disadvantages, and to analyze the approach from a critical point of view. The advantages of pilot lines are clear: having an at-scale line where organizations can investigate, test, validate, generate data, and even produce on a small scale is already interesting in itself, particularly because this can be performed without impacting the production or affecting critical processes. In relation to this, the concept of \"test-before-invest\" has been mentioned throughout this article. This possibility is also one of the positive points, as pilot lines offer an efficient way to test technology, processes, communication, sustainability, or human operations in controlled environments and can later be applied to production or scaled up to more complex lines. The reconfigurability and modularity of pilot lines are another advantage. This makes the lines flexible and adaptable to different cases, and also allows for independent component replacement with higher TRL solutions as they become available. Small-scale production is another strength of this concept. In many cases, small batches need to be produced and it would not be profitable to adapt or reconfigure an entire production line. It also allows for predicting how a larger-scale production might work and evaluating methods of quality and efficiency. The ability to mitigate risks and clear uncertainties regarding technology is another significant advantage, especially in an environment where advances in artificial intelligence have substantial impacts on different aspects of the production processes. Pilot lines facilitate research and development of new technologies, and most importantly, they allow for validation in environments close to operational ones. Related to this, the ability to generate data enables model training, decision-making, and analysis for efficient scaling. Another clear advantage is the possibility of using pilot lines for technology transfer and facilitating workers' training on technologies that will soon be deployed in production. Capacity building, upskilling or reskilling workers can benefit from these small-scalecontrolled environments. Lastly, pilot lines serve as demonstration and showcase elements, allowing stakeholders to view prototypes and innovations at early stages. Regarding the challenges faced when scaling-up pilot lines, it is important to mention that while the initial cost may not be as high as implementing the changes on a full production line, costs can still be significant and may not be profitable in all cases. In some instances, considering virtual pilot lines, as presented in [41], or focusing on Digital Twins is a valid alternative. The costs associated with maintaining and operating the pilot line can be substantial. Given the availability of pilot-line-as-a-service offerings and funded projects for their use, it might be worth exploring these options instead of setting up an in-house solution. Modularity offers flexibility and helps mitigate the potential issues of obsolescence in rapidly changing technologies. However, a modular and adaptable pilot line may not be as efficient as one specifically designed for a particular process. Regarding the efficiency, the yield achieved in pilot lines does not always hold in full-scale production. This can be due to the increased complexity of processes or potential bottlenecks when handling large volumes. Additionally, efficiency is also impacted by machine downtimes in production. While these stoppages in production are common for maintenance, they are usually not considered in pilot lines. Therefore, it is important not to assume that production in a pilot line scales linearly to full-scale production. Finally, a critical point is the reliability and variability of results when moving from small-scale to large-scale production and across different levels of technological maturity.