# Collaborative Networks: A Pillar of Digital Transformation
## 7 Discussion of New Research Challenges
When facing (1) increasing levels of intelligence and autonomy of smart objects, devices, machines, and systems, and (2) an exponential growth of the number of interconnected entities, there is a need to adopt new organizational and control approaches to such systems. _Further research:_  
Moving towards the notion of **collaborative CPS**[55], including topics such as:  
* Rethinking the organizational structure of CPS as a collaborative network, e.g., ecosystems of smart entities. * Further development of the notion of \"digital twins\" to embed the collaboration perspective, namely when considering higher levels of intelligence and autonomy of sub-systems. * In terms of governance, progress from a \"control-orientation\" towards a \"collaboration-orientation\", allowing entities to engage in coordination, sharing, negotiation, and contracting. **Extend the CN perspective to Human-Machine (H-M) collaboration and communities of machines**  
_Context_: The emerging area of \"collaborative robotics\" already points to hybrid forms of collaboration. However, rather than a \"one-to-one collaboration\" case, as addressed in contemporary systems [49], one can envision more extended networked scenarios, eventually involving multiple machines and humans [101]. Complementarily, new user interfacing technologies, such as the so-called \"natural user interfaces\", and virtual and augmented reality, allow for the development of more effective ways of human-machine collaboration. _Further research:_  
Pursuing a **hybridization of social interactions**, namely through:  
* Taking advantage of new user interfacing technologies to better allow collaboration between humans and machines/systems, somehow revisiting the earlier concept of \"balanced automation systems\" [122; 123]. * Explore affective computing [124] and emotions in CNs [43] to reach \"more natural\" forms of collaboration. * Extending the notion of persona to \"human digital twin\", to both re-enforce the collaboration perspective (e.g., supporting preparatory tasks for collaboration and intermediation) and contribute to human enhancement (a kind of human-machine symbiosis). * Supporting not only H-M but also Machine-Machine (M-M) collaboration, as machines become smarter. * Finding ways to deal with technological evolution and still-in-use obsolete autonomous systems. Seek inspiration from Nature Context: Nature, in its various areas, is full of successful collaboration cases. These cases show in a large variety of forms and appear to be highly optimized and sustainable [36]. Concomitantly, a core goal of digital transformation is to seek optimized, agile, and sustainable solutions. Further research: Adopting findings from Nature-related disciplines on collaboration cases and taking them as a source of inspiration to: \(\circ\) Better understand collaboration mechanisms, processes, and behaviors of actors involved. \(\circ\) Replicate collaboration mechanisms and effective organizational structures, towards sustainable and optimized solutions. More detailed examples of such additional research can be found in [36]. (b) Organizational models (c) Combination of and interaction among multiple dynamic networks Context: The various integration dimensions of Industry 4.0 and the need to support the full lifecycle of products induce the co-existence in the same environment of multiple networks, composed of organizations, people, machines, and smart systems, which have multiple interaction points, even some that overlap. Some of these networks are formal, regulated by contracts, while others are informal. Furthermore, these networks are characterized by different durations and co-exist at different stages of their lifecycles. Understanding this reality is essential for achieving effectiveness, flexibility, agility, sustainability, and resilience of the next industrial systems. Various efforts in this direction can already be found in [61], but the topic remains a key research challenge.