Research, demonstration and learning factory for smart production systems

The TU Wien Pilot Factory Industry 4.0 is a university demonstration, research and learning environment for modern production systems. As a cross-faculty initiative of the TU Wien, it combines expertise from mechanical engineering, industrial engineering and computer science and offers a realistic platform for the development, testing and validation of Industry 4.0 concepts.

What is a pilot factory?

A pilot factory is a testing, demonstration and learning environment in which new production concepts, technologies and organisational forms can be examined under realistic conditions. In contrast to pure laboratories, it replicates real production processes and thus enables reliable findings for research, teaching and industrial implementation.

The TU Wien Pilot Factory serves as:

• A demonstration factory for smart and networked production
• A test environment for new technologies, methods and systems
• A testing ground for cyber-physical systems and digital twins
• A learning factory for students, researchers and industry partners

Key tasks of the pilot factory

Research

The pilot factory strengthens research activities in the fields of production engineering, automation, digitalisation and Industry 4.0. It enables the development and evaluation of new production concepts, control approaches and assistance systems under realistic conditions.

Teaching and further education

As a learning factory, the pilot factory is an integral part of academic education at TU Wien. Students work on real production systems and learn about modern methods in a practical way. In addition, continuing education formats are offered for industry partners and skilled workers.

Knowledge and innovation transfer

A key objective is the transfer of research results into industrial practice. The pilot factory acts as an interface between the university and industry and supports companies in the introduction and evaluation of new technologies.

Application context and production scope

The pilot factory covers discrete, multivariate series production through to single and small series production. The entire product life cycle is taken into account, from product and process development to manufacturing and assembly to logistical aspects.

The integrative approach allows interactions between product design, production systems and people to be systematically analysed and optimised. The aim is to develop scientifically based expertise for flexible, efficient and sustainable production systems.

Core competencies of the TU Wien Pilot Factory

Production systems

In the area of production, the focus is on:

• The vertical integration of manufacturing cells into manufacturing execution systems (MES)
• Adaptive and reconfigurable production systems
• The control and orchestration of microservices for industrial automation
• Skill-based control of machines and systems
• Machine-to-machine communication (M2M)
• Functional safety of reconfigurable systems

Assembly, logistics and assistance systems

A particular focus is on human-centred work systems, including:

• Cognitive assistance systems for assembly and logistics
• Digital and visual support systems
• Cooperative and collaborative robotics
• Workload-adaptive, ergonomically designed assembly workstations
• Cell-based assembly systems, planned and controlled via digital twins

Design and Engineering

The Design & Engineering division addresses the following areas:

• Product lifecycle management (PLM) and horizontal integration
• Multidisciplinary modelling of products and production systems
• Parallel virtual simulations
• Real-time optimisation through synchronised production data

Production and maintenance management as drivers of project-based research in the pilot factory

The TU Wien Pilot Factory Industry 4.0 is operated as a university research and learning platform in close cooperation with the research unit of Production and Maintenance Management (PIM) at TU Wien. PIM acts as the main scientific partner and uses the pilot factory as a learning factory and as an industrial experimentation and demonstration environment for current issues in production and maintenance.

The activities are grouped under the umbrella theme ‘Lab for Smart and Sustainable Maintenance’. The aim is to holistically investigate and further develop modern production and maintenance systems. The pilot factory provides an industrial laboratory space for this purpose, where research, teaching and industrial cooperation are closely linked.

One focus is on inspection technologies, particularly in the context of the A3R – Aviation, AI and AR research project, in which automated inspection and testing procedures using artificial intelligence, augmented reality and robotic systems are being researched and tested in the pilot factory. In addition, data-based approaches for condition monitoring, failure prediction and optimisation of maintenance strategies are being developed and validated in the field of industrial data science and predictive maintenance.

Other activities address extended reality technologies and asset management, for example to support maintenance processes, training and interaction with digital twins. These approaches enable new forms of knowledge transfer and decision support in industrial systems.

As a learning factory, the pilot plant is an important part of education and training. Students and industrial users work on real production and maintenance scenarios and test new technologies, methods and organisational forms under realistic conditions.

Through the close integration of research, teaching and projects with industry partners, the TU Wien Pilot Factory Industry 4.0 positions itself as an open platform for smart, sustainable and future-oriented production and maintenance solutions.

Contact

Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Fazel Ansari
fazel.ansari@tuwien.ac.at

Further Links

Further information about the TU Wien Pilot Factory Industry 4.0: https://www.pilotfabrik.at/language/en/, opens an external URL in a new window 

Click here for the virtual tour of the TU Wien Pilot Factory Industry 4.0: https://www.pilotfabrik.at/language/en/virtual-tour/, opens an external URL in a new window 

You can find videos here: https://www.pilotfabrik.at/language/en/videos-en/, opens an external URL in a new window