Smart Industry: Towards 21 st century skills

Transcription

1 Smart Industry: Towards 21 st century skills Science Agenda Contents Preface and context 1. Introduction: Smart Industry is not about technology (only) Engineering Sciences and ICT for Smart Industry Mathematics/informatics and Natural Sciences for Smart Industry Social, Economic and Behavioral Sciences for Smart Industry Humanities for Smart Industry Applied and Practice-Oriented Research for Smart Industry 14 Acknowledgements Preface and context Smart Industry has recently become the new kid on the block in the Dutch innovation landscape. This initiative aims to accelerate the use of existing and development of new ICT and other key technologies in all aspects of industrial value chains to enable smart products, processes and services. Smart Industry is driven by the fact that machines will be interconnected via the Internet and can be operated in an intelligent way. The interconnection is not only limited within one factory, but will range between companies, and between companies and their customers. This will allow the delivery of smart products, and smart services based on smart processes. Smart Industry can be characterized along the following lines: Applications will use sensors and powerful ICT networks to realize digitization of product and process information (Internet of Things) New and advanced manufacturing technology like industrial robots, 3D printing, smart electronics, advanced ICT tools etc. Network centric production system in which the total product value chain will be supported allowing mass customization, just in time delivery and optimized services towards the customers. A coalition of stakeholders led by FME, TNO, VNO-NCW, Kamer van Koophandel, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (EZ) and ICT-Nederland have recently derived a Smart Industry action agenda, structured along the following action lines: (1) better application of existing technology (2) acceleration in Field Labs (3) reinforcement of fundamental knowledge (4) Development of new skills and technology (5) Improving of the context for smart industry

2 The execution of the action agenda has received financial support from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and STW has been approached to support the definition of the associated R&D agenda and underlying scientific challenges. To this matter STW has participated in and provided input for consultation meetings with academic experts, which provided basic guidelines and input for specific technology and science areas. Furthermore the technological scope of the 10 pilot Field Labs selected by the Smart Industry platform has been screened to cover a wide range of technologies and applications. The focus of the pilot Field Labs ranges from predictive maintenance to flexible manufacturing, dairy farming and automated horticulture, illustrating the wide scope and expected impact of the Smart Industry initiative. The screening study revealed that generic needs are present in the area of software development, digitalization of processes and product properties, system modelling and engineering, cyber security, data communication, logistics and ICT networks. In addition existing possibilities and new developments are often required in innovative manufacturing and process technologies such as 3D-printing, mechatronics, robotics and sensor systems. Many of the technology requirements for the present pilot Field Labs are described in existing roadmaps of the Dutch topsectors High Tech Systems & Materials, Creative Industry, Agro&Food and Horticulture. It can be expected that similar connections to roadmaps of these and other topsectors can be made for Smart industry field labs of the future. However, a science agenda with a wider range and further horizon will be required for full and sustainable support of the Smart Industry revolution. Research in the scientific disciplines and topics in this science agenda will provide innovations for the smart industry developments of the future. It is important to stress that Smart Industry is not just about technology, but will have a wider impact on directly involved coworkers as well as the general public and society of the future. The impact currently experienced in traditional sectors by the availability of online services and related business models is just one example of what can be expected by the Smart Industry revolution. Clearly, this calls for inclusion of the social, behavioral and other human oriented sciences to facilitate successful and accepted implementation of the required new technologies and intended new business opportunities.

3 Figure 1: the Smart Industry Science Agenda will support knowledge institutes and companies to collaborate on the long term issues creating innovations for 21 st century skills

4 1. Introduction: Smart Industry is not about technology (only) Hightech engineering disciplines will be central to the development of a scientific agenda for Smart Industry. Next to the global societal changes, the key enablers in technology such as the Internet-of- Things and cyber-physical systems will drive industry in the 21 st century. For sustained competitive power, manufacturing technologies need to address topics such as high value information, customer intimacy, value chain participation, flexibilization and customization, quality improvement and automation 1. Smart Industry, however, is not about new technology only. Smart Industry will fundamentally change our society, the way we work as well as the way we live. New technology will enter our professional and personal lives, introducing paradigm shifts and new dilemma s ranging from the field of human adaptivity to new business models, from privacy regulations to communication protocols. Figure 2: a summary of challenging scientific topics relevant to smart industry Smart Industry offers many opportunities for sustainability and a circular economy, balancing people, planet and profit. Concerning people, the largest societal impact of introducing Smart Industry may be the enhancement of employment and employability. Tailor made products, zero-stock production and mass personalization require flexibility and customer intimacy, and often proximity. The renaissance of local production may increase the chances for new and innovative manufacturing industries in our country. Concerning planet, this tailor made approach will lead to opportunities to achieve environmental targets using information technology, producing less waste, and producing only those products that are actually needed and used. The circular economy requires much more than the transition to a bio-based economy. Efficient use of materials and energy should be a natural part of the Smart Industry agenda. This includes elements such as disassembly, reuse, refurbishment, and recycling. More efficient production may 1 Smart Industry, report FME-CWM, april 2014

5 also come from continuous quality control, continuous feedback in production processes and less waste. 2. Engineering Sciences and ICT for Smart Industry The engineering sciences are considered to be an innovation driver for Smart Industry. The industry will need an increasing number of electrical and mechanical engineers as well as physical, chemical process, mathematics and computer science, agro-tech and maritime, informatics and design engineers. Moreover the engineers of the future need to be able to work in multi-disciplinary teams. Research in the engineering sciences needs to focus and the development of new and innovative (cyber-)physical systems that are able to work intelligently (big data), securely (respecting data integrity and privacy), flawlessly (zero-defect manufacturing) in a wide range of environments and conditions (robustness), while communicating flexibly with an increasing number of cooperative agents (interoperability). Although technologies such as 3D-printing and the Internet-of-Things are finding their inroads in industry, the maturity and full technological and societal impact of these phenomena is yet to come. New value creation will be made possible by massive volumes of data from connected smart products, and the increased ability to make automated decisions and take actions in real time. This will lead to a vastly improved operational efficiency through predictive maintenance and remote management, to value chain optimization, to software-driven services and innovations in hardware, to collaboration between humans and machines which will result in higher levels of productivity and other forms of work experiences. Generic needs are present in the area of software development, digitalization of processes and product properties, cyber security, data communication and ICT networks. Big data algorithm, formal software tools, managing the complexity of large, interconnected (sometimes legacy) software systems, reliable and dependable systems, architectures for very large distributed autonomous systems, system level modelling, statistical analysis and stochastic optimization, process modelling and user interfacing are challenges to solve. In addition existing possibilities and new developments are often required in innovative manufacturing and process technologies such as 3D-printing, mechatronics, robotics, sensor and visualisaton systems. Smart Industry will also enable new industrial design. Ultra-personalized products, flexible and ultra-low power electronics, multimaterial 3D printing all create new possibilities to manufacturing what you can think and design. It is common in the engineering sciences and ICT, that a transdisciplinary approach is chosen to build the bridge between basic sciences and industrial practice. The strong ties between academic and high-tech industry in the Netherlands provide a fertile ground for leading innovators, building on existing networks at the interface of industrial and academic research. For an effective contribution to Smart Industry, the engineering sciences and ICT in the Netherlands need to focus their scientific strengths on the topics that contribute to a sustained industrial

6 development. The following fields of interest have a particular strong and high-quality scientific presence in our country: Data management, big data and pattern recognition Multi-scale modeling techniques Self-learning techniques Computer technology and software development Information and communication technologies Distributed networking ( cloud computing ) Large scale computing Data integrity and security System architecting and design Reliable and dependable systems Human interfacing, industrial design Embedded systems research Control engineering, process control Advanced manufacturing technologies Mechatronics Micro- and nano electronics Multi agent robotics Functional Materials The scientific community at the three technical universities is strong in all these relevant fields. There are opportunities for a stronger collaboration between the universities, industry and TNO. The hightech ecosystem around Eindhoven is considered to be exemplary.

7 3. Mathematics/informatics and Natural Sciences for Smart Industry Mathematics/informatics and the natural sciences have proven to be fertile ground for major breakthroughs leading to radically new technologies in the long-term. No doubt, the sciences will also have this leading role in the coming decades: Encryption systems, graphene electronics, solar fuels, quantum computing and nanotechnology will enter our daily lives this century. Major breakthroughs cannot be predicted. In this paragraph we focus on the medium-term significance of mathematics and the natural sciences for Smart Industry. The evolution to a Smart Industry will require mathematical techniques to be applied to advanced prediction tools, so that (big) data can be systematically processed into information, explaining uncertainties and supporting informed decision making. Mathematics and the translation into data processing and mining techniques will become central to almost all industrial and public sectors. The increasing complexity of Smart Industry processes, and the multi-modal availability of increasing amounts of data, will necessitate new tools for pattern recognition, neural networks and emergent behavior as well as all kinds of security and cooperative systems solutions. Many systems can no longer be described as deterministic, so stochastic optimization techniques will become more relevant. Cloud computing will give a boost to new techniques in computational sciences. Not unlike the evolution of the Internet, the physics expertise in massive (wireless) distributed sensor and actuator networks can have a profound effect on industry and society as a whole. Present day nanophysics will contribute to the technology for next generation (on chip) wifi technology, massive data storage and data manipulation, parallel computing remote handling and encryption. Natural sciences and engineering sciences meet at the interface of phenomenological physics. Exciting topics, relevant to Smart Industry, can be found at this interface: light-matter interaction, fluid-solid interfaces, additive manufacturing, (photonic) circuit design, micro-electro-mechanical systems and materials science (incl. soft and biological matter). Functional materials for a broad range of industrial sectors (hightech and chemical industry, energy) will stimulate technology-driven innovation in the coming decade. This development will open up new scientific opportunities in e.g. nanophotonics and molecular biomaterials. The instrumentation development for materials characterization and for manipulation of matter on the nano-scale will give Dutch industry a cutting edge advantage. The resource, use and re-use of materials (in particular of the rare earth materials) will be a deciding factor in the coming decades, from an economic and geopolitical point-of-view as well as from environmental considerations (people, planet, profit). The sciences are crucial for the transition to a more circular economy. This will require the use of functional materials, abundant materials and biobased materials. The tailor-made design and production of new advanced materials and better chemistry for recycled materials will lead to more cost-effective manufacturing, while reducing waste and reducing stocks. For an effective contribution to Smart Industry, mathematics and the sciences in the Netherlands need to maintain their world class position. A world class scientific ecosystem is considered to be a

8 strong driver for innovation, despite the fact that the causal relationship is not easily proven due to the long return-on-investment cycle. A particular strength of the Netherlands are the existing close ties between industrial researchers and their academic counterparts. This public-private collaboration will lead to cutting edge knowledge in partnerships, leading to competitive ecosystems also in the future. Special attention are needed for those fields that can contribute more or less directly to smart industry innovations: materials science, nanoscience and - technology, catalysis, fluid dynamics, informatics and applied mathematics. The following fields of interest have a particular strong and high-quality scientific presence in our country: Materials science, including soft and biological matter Applied mathematics, computational science, mathematical modelling, stochastic optimization, statistical analysis Advanced instrumentation for (massive) data handling and storage Fluid dynamics and non-newtonian mechanics Functional materials, interface physics and catalysis Biobased materials Nanotechnology, MEMS/NEMS, characterization and manipulation at the nano-scale Nano and micro electronics

9 4. Social, Economic and Behavioral Sciences for Smart Industry Smart industry is not only triggered by technological innovation, but also by business and social innovation (workplace innovation or skills). Due to the smarter products, businesses shift their focus from manufacturing only to manufacturing a product and servicing it during its whole lifetime and then refurbishing/recycling their own, known products. This is called servicification of industry. Economically this implies an transition with changes in cash flow and financing, in the creation of value networks to replace linear value chains from SME supplier to OEM. Also innovation systems are changing into network-centric innovation ecosystems with multi-parties and complex legal constructions. There, new and currently emerging economical systems in knowledge intensive societies need to be better understood as e.g. value creating constellations (networks) compared to linear value chains. Smart Industry will change the way we work, the way we do business and the way we earn our income. Mass personalization, just-in-time management (no stocks), and customer intimacy will lead to new products and services. Business models and the structure of value chains will change. The social sciences, such as economy and communication sciences can give answers to a plethora of questions in this changing society: - What will the structure of value chains/constellations look like in a networking society? - Which business models are more and which are less likely to work? Which particular strengths can we use to stimulate the innovation in business models? - How will robotics change our work force and the skills we need? - How can we identify effective and innovative marketing strategies? - What are the success factors of regional public-private ecosystems in a globalizing economy? - What will the impact of the Internet of Things on the privacy of people. From a commercial point-of-view, focusing the social sciences on the topic of Smart Industry will give a crucial competitive advantage, by adding social innovation to the technology-driven changes made possible by the applied and engineering sciences. This combination will help Dutch industry to maintain its worldwide strong position in the field of high-tech systems and materials, creative industries, agro/food, and even chemical & maritime industries in the case of complex process monitoring, operations & maintenance. 2. For an effective contribution to Smart Industry, the social sciences in the Netherlands need to focus their scientific strengths on the topics needed for social innovation in network-centric innovation systems as well as highly automated industrial environments. The following fields of interest have a particular strong and high-quality scientific presence in our country: 2 H. Volberda et al., Tijdschrift voor HRM, 1, (2011)

10 Financial economics of innovation and service industries Management studies, business and workflow modelling Urban planning, smart cities, smart logistics The acceptance of further dependency on ICT The impact of smart energy distribution and networks (smart grid) Big data for business intelligence and societal issues The Dutch universities have strong research programs in social innovation, management studies and business models. The same is true for the application of big data techniques to business and societal issues.. The topic of smart grids and smart cities, relevant to smart industry in multiple ways, is strongly represented in the Dutch social sciences community. Focusing the knowledge of these communities to the challenges of smart industry, is a promising opportunity 3. Figure 3: A keyword analysis of the NWO/STW portfolio shows that there is an opportunity for stronger ties between the smart industry community (on the left) and the communities working on smart grid research and big data for business and societal applications. Courtesy: Chris Mombers (STW/NRPO-SIA) It is clear that Smart Industry will have an enormous impact on the skills needed in our country. Automation through robots and emphasis on flexibility reduces the repetitive low-skill work, but increases the need for more specialized work to reorganize the manufacturing systems and processes and perform maintenance activities. Also, the increase in information and interaction with partners requires employees who are more experienced in IT and communication. As stated, 3 NWO/STW portfolio analysis, E.E.W. Bruins, C.A.M. Mombers, Smart Industry kick-off, s Hertogenbosch, January 2015

11 robotization will have a profound impact on the jobs in the manufacturing industry. Driven by cost reduction and increase in quality, especially repetitive labor could be fully replaced by machines in some industries. In the coming years, humans are still by far the most flexible production factor. So, as smaller batches require higher investment and specialized production systems, especially in assembly, robots 4 will often mainly assist production personnel but ultimately will go beyond replacing routine work. A full impact study is needed to get a clear view of the overall impact. - How adaptive are humans to having robots as a colleague? - How does human behavior change in the vicinity of human-like automated machines? - How does robotization affect production and motivation of skilled workers? - How do we train the new generation for jobs that are unknown as we train them? Can we predict which skills are needed? - How to adjust the workplace with respect to an ageing workforce? - How to flexibly prepare the changing workforce by robot-supported work? The success of organizations will to a large extent be determined by the skills of their employees. The essence of many professions will change, and the necessary skills will vary throughout careers, requiring adaptive skills up to a higher age than we are used to. For an effective contribution to Smart Industry, the behavioral sciences in the Netherlands need to focus their scientific strengths on identifying the optimal conditions for humans, humans skills and their development throughout their life span, in a highly automated and digital environment. The following fields are of special interest for the development of smart industry in our country: Man-machine and brain-machine interactions Design, ergonomics and performance Learning and cognition Ageing and technology-supported resilience Adaptability and serviceability of products will require a different product design attitude The impact of ultimate manufacturing automation on society (lack of low-skilled jobs) 4 Robots are to interpreted in a broad sense. Also autonomous ships, cooperative driving cars, drones are in the end robotic systems

12 5. Humanities for Smart Industry Smart industry will influence the relationship between humans and machines. Human machine interaction will be data driven, it will affect the value (information) chain, digital infrastructures, production methods and business opportunities requiring for creative skills to keep up pace with the fast moving technological and societal development. Technological developments will fail if their ethical and societal consequences are not considered in time. Humanities hold a strong position in contextualizing innovations underpinning the development of sustainable and efficient products and services. Furthermore considering ethical and societal questions at an early stage creates more support in society and helps prevent innovations from unnecessarily coming to a standstill. Responsible innovation is innovation with an understanding of the possible ethical and societal implications. Creativity and creative skills, central in the study of Humanities, contribute to society as a whole and in particular industry by turning opportunities and grassroots research into valuable innovations leading to the development of new services, products and brands through cultural research. Humanities in understanding, interpreting and contextualizing innovations address complex issues e.g. concerning the development of industrial processes and the consequences for the information flow, (re)use of data and digital infrastructures, the skills of the individual employee as well as the development of society as a whole in a global context. Essentially creativity is not only about artistic processes or human skills but too about the innovation of technological, social and economic infrastructures. Smart industries will greatly benefit from research into questions about ownership of data, (re)organization of the information flow, the impact of new techniques on privacy, safety and identity and visualization of information which are traditionally the subject area of Humanities. Important research questions are: - How do we interpret and contextualize large quantities of data in the context of the value information chain of smart industries? - What about open access and ownership of information, data streams, data integrity, identity and privacy in a new industrial context? - What can efficient digital infrastructures, data-management and data-interpretation mean for smart industries? Creative skills will be an essential working asset in the fast moving and dynamic environment of smart industries where individualization and production on demand are likeably to be important concepts. Future workers need the skills to be adaptive to this environment and have to be capable for lifelong learning in order to keep track with the emergence of new methods and technologies. Gaming will be important for training and learning. At a societal level, it is important to consider potential job displacement that will occur in some sectors due to increased automation. Important research questions in the field of creativity and innovation are: - How can we sustain the capability of workers to adapt to a fast moving and dynamic environment where creative skills and lifelong learning seem indispensable?

13 - How can we use gaming principles like narrativity in the context of smart (learning) devices? - What will the loss of traditional jobs mean for society and how do the working class heroes of the future look like? There is no denial that a complex and globalizing world requires more understanding of processes of change in a broader historical and cultural context. Smart Industry could greatly benefit from the adaptation of the vision of personalized services and production methods. Important research questions are: - The creative sector is experienced in the development of ultra-personalized services and products. What is the significance of these production methods of smart industries in terms of effective and efficient production processes? - What are the effects of new production methods and new materials (3D printing) on urban region planning, smart cities and architecture? - How can we contextualize the development of smart industries in a social, cultural and historic context? Societal acceptance is often an issue in the development of new technologies. Considering ethical and societal aspects at an early stage creates more support in society. This will help prevent situations where innovations encounter objections from society at a later stage. That s why we need responsible innovation. Examples of these aspects are public trust, responsibility, sustainability, accountability, privacy, (cyber)security, the ownership of information and (complex) legal aspects. We expect major shifts in thinking on these issues. Responsible innovation can prevent the occurrence of problems at a later stage and the need for complex adaptations. Ethical and societal requirements for new services and products can also be drivers of innovation instead of impediments to it. They create opportunities for better products and services based on societal inspired innovations. Research in the following fields will contribute to optimal opportunities for smart industry: digital humanities, digital infrastructure, creative skills, gaming, arts and technology, creativity human adaptivity and social acceptance the impact of big data: integrity, identity, privacy, liability and ownership social media, personalized services and products responsible innovation

14 6. Applied and Practice-Oriented Research for Smart Industry In this Science Agenda for Smart Industry we have focused on the scientific disciplines and topics that are needed for creating an industry fit for the 21 st century. However, creating 21 st century skills implies a much broader need for education and application than science only, as shown in Figure 1. The Science Agenda is explicitly linked to the Smart Industry Field Labs and as such ideally positioned to link to the broader research efforts of e.g. TNO in the fields of Industrial Innovation, Energy and ICT, and to smart grid activities at ECN. Furthermore, the theme of 21 st century skills is incomplete without mentioning the higher professional education institutes (HBO) in The Netherlands. These 37 so-called Universities of Applied Sciences, representing over 440,000 students, maintain contact with a broad range of people and organizations. Practice-oriented research in these HBO institutes is an increasing and ongoing activity, gaining in strength, volume and quality. The contacts between HBO institutes and small and medium sized enterprises form strong local networks of knowledge, leading to a continuous flow of highly educated young people to Dutch industry and other organisations. The funding organization for practice-oriented research, NRPO-SIA, can potentially contribute to applied research and development in all fields mentioned in the science paragraphs of this agenda. Acknowledgements We like to thank Gerard Beenker, Boudewijn Haverkort, Inald Lagendijk, Egbert-Jan Sol, Marlies van de Meent, Koen Langendoen, Pieter de Witte, Herm van der Beek, Willem Vermeend, Ben van Lier and Arthur van Roermund for fruitful discussions and their contribution to this Science Agenda. Eppo Bruins (NWO-STW), Dick Koster (STW/TNO), Arnold Stokking (TNO) April 2015