Smart Industry Technologies

Technological innovative solutions have always had strong influence on the manufacturing and production process and the human history has experienced 3 industrial revolutions. Now we are witnessing the 4th Industrial revolution which is about introducing Information technologies in the industrial processes and integrating them with the existing Operational technologies to create adaptive, efficient, and digitally connected industrial systems.

In the past decade, also industrial machines and factories have slowly but surely been connected to the Internet, to share more and more data on production, products, processes, services, logistics, etc. The overall goal of Smart Industry (https://www.smartindustry.com/) is to ensure that production processes, products and services are flexible and adjustable in real-time by means of this data, collected, communicated and used by any component involved in the production process and the production network.

The new area of Smart Industry raises a whole spectrum of new questions on how to integrate new digital technologies into the existing manufacturing eco-system and existing operational technologies. How to collect relevant data from machines, products, production? How to connect machines so that they can share data safely, securely, in a robust way? How can this data be used for more efficient and flexible production by means of the new IoT and AI technologies? What innovative solutions are needed for digitalisation of legacy manufacturing systems?

In the HighTech region of Eindhoven, Noord-Brabant and broader, the need for professionals who can operate on the boundaries of ICT and technical Engineering is enormous. Being aware of this importance, this minor is a joint effort of the ICT and the Engineering department at Fontys. This cross-disciplinary, ICT & Engineering learning environment makes this minor unique among other Smart Industry study programs in the Netherlands.

The minor emphasizes hands-on learning through real-world projects developed in collaboration with industry partners. By working on these projects students gain better understanding on how different Smart Industry relevant technologies come together in real-world industrial environments. We have identified the following application domains within which the minor activities are conducted:

• Smart Manufacturing: Integration of IoT, Data Analysis and AI for automated production lines, predictive maintenance, and real-time monitoring.
• Smart Automation: Programmable logic controllers (PLCs), Industrial IoT and control systems.
• Industrial Vision Systems: Computer vision and AI solutions for industrial automation, inspection, and quality control.
• IoT, Connected Systems and Infrastructure: Deployment of smart sensors, actuators, edge and network devices for monitoring and controlling industrial operations.
• Data-Driven Optimization: Use of data analysis, machine learning and AI for process optimization and decision support, and by means of simulation or digital twins.

To support the projects, students will have access to a range of resources, including specialized workshops on various relevant technologies, expert sessions, practical exercises, and coaching, as well as field lab equipment

The minor is aimed at students from Fontys ICT and Fontys Engineering who are interested in enriching own knowledge, skills and experience in new technologies relevant for Smart Industry, and integration of those technologies. The most obvious attendants for this minor are students from any profile at ICT and students from Mechatronics at Engineering. But besides those, we explicitly invite students from other study programs at the Engineering department to attend this minor.

For more information contact the minor coordinator:

Suzana Andova s.andova@fontys.nl.

Read also the article about Smart Industry at Fontys ICT, the article on our international project, or watch videos of some students’ projects Digital twin, Remote Commissioning, Smart Medicine Carrier.