An application of Cloud Robotics for enhancing the Flexibility of Robotic Cells at Factory Shop Floors

Abstract

The global market is susceptible to the variation of customer demands and, in turn, the competition among different stakeholders. Lack of resources on factory shop floors may result in many challenges for industries to address customers' needs. Therefore, the adaptation of production systems to ever-increasing demands is crucial for maintaining companies' competitivity. This article presents an approach for developing a flexible manufacturing system throughout the implementation of cloud robotics. The proposed solution employs cloud resources in order to incorporate new functionalities and capabilities in industrial robot cells. As a result, the system will be able to accommodate customized product variants without the need of process and system reconfiguration, at runtime.