- March 20, 2013
March 20, 2013 - At this year's Hannover Industry Fair, Ubisense is announcing the Smart Factory System, an integrated location driven manufacturing system. Combining high-precision UWB real-time location with a modular user software that provides flexible configuration options, it enables orders, components, equipment and assets to be identified and tracked automatically at any given time - both indoors and outdoors thanks to the integrated GPS feature. Inefficient and error-prone manual processes such as scanning or document stamping can thus be eliminated. What's special: the application of location to automate and control multiple processes throughout the manufacturing facility. The system automatically recognizes where tools are being used and ensures that the operations are carried out correctly. Production managers can follow the progress of work orders on the assembly line and monitor all production steps and their duration precisely and in real-time, even in multiple facilities at different locations. The shipping department is notified by email as soon as a product has completed all the steps of assembly and inspection. At the same time, the forklift operator is notified of the exact pick-up location of the goods in the warehouse. These examples show the enormous potential for Lean Production and quality management that can be tapped using the Smart Factory System. Simple Infrastructure All users need is one simple infrastructure: active battery-powered transponders (known as tags), sensors and application software. The tags have a unique ID, so they can be linked to production data, for example, and transmit radio location signals. These signals are picked up by sensors, which take several measurements per second, thus tracking the position of the tags. This allows for thousands of freely moving objects to be monitored simultaneously and events to be triggered according to their respective positions. The location data is logged, processed and visualized by the Ubisense software. Unlike traditional identification and location solutions which deliver isolated “snap-shot” type events, the Smart Factory System monitors and controls critical production processes continuously, presenting a dynamic 3D real-time visualization of the manufacturing assets being managed by it. Planning and control systems are thus permanently informed of the current production flow, improving both quality and efficiency. The system was developed by Ubisense and is already being used by customers like BMW, Airbus and Daimler. One system for all processes The Smart Factory System may be configured to handle any production process or task. It is designed such that new or modified application requirements can be easily satisfied. The system operates independently of stations – for example changes to the assembly line can be accommodated by software configuration instead of relocating hardware.