Industrial integration of ICT: opportunities for international research cooperation under the IMS scheme
Within the framework of a European Seminar organised in Zurich in November 2007, a session dedicated to "Industrial Integration of ICT" aimed to explore the role of ICT in manufacturing. Participating experts concluded that the following four ICT-related trends will profoundly impact manufacturing in the future: (1) increased enterprise agility and adaptability; (2) the growth of embedded intelligence in products and processes; (3) the transition from physical products to product/service systems; (4) the reorientation towards a holistic perspective of the product lifecycle. The paper attempts to synthesise the contributions made and to further develop the vision for research that could be undertaken under the Intelligent Manufacturing Systems (IMS) scheme, set up and run across major industrialised countries. The conclusions drawn by the paper refer to one of the major challenges of industry today: to reconcile competitiveness and environmental friendliness of products and processes. To address this challenge in a holistic way, a new generation of ICT-based industrial methods, systems and tools will be needed. The sheer complexity of the task requires enormous research efforts which cannot be realised at national level alone. IMS could prove to be an adequate scheme for addressing this challenge at global level.
ict ims intelligent manufacturing systems information and communication technologies sustainable products