DIGITOP: Digital transformation of the robotic factory of the future

Project title: Digital Transformation of Robotic Factories of the Future

Project acronym: DIGITOP

Project coordinator: Aleš Ude, Jožef Stefan Institute, Slovenia

Project leader at {Rudolfovo: Prof. Dr. Janez Povh

Deputy Project Leader at {Rudolfovo, who is also the RRP5 leader: Dr. Krištof Debeljak

Contact: digitop@ijs.si

Project website: https://digitop.info/

The DIGITOP programme aims to introduce advanced digital technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), information and communication technologies (ICT), Industry 4.0 and 5.0 into manufacturing companies through automation and optimisation of production processes.

The programme includes nine research and development projects (R&DPs) at different stages of technological readiness, focusing on the themes of digital transition and strategic autonomy.

The programme aims to sustain industrial production in Slovenia and the EU, involving research organisations and industrial partners supporting research with their own resources.

The DIGITOP programme comprises five key R&D areas, all focused on advanced digital technologies to optimise smart factories.

The first area, which is supportive of all the others, explores promising artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and the development of advanced tools for automating production processes, while examining worker acceptance of new technologies.

The second area focuses on the development of reconfigurable robotic cells that enable agile production with easy transitions between different production processes.

The third examines collaborative robotics, which allows workers and robots to perform tasks together, thereby improving production efficiency and safety.

The fourth deals with the use of digitalisation and AI to predict energy consumption and capture and formalise operators' skills, with the aim of optimising smart factories and digitalising workers' knowledge.

The fifth area explores the deployment of digital twins in smart factories, enabling "off-line" testing of new technologies, thus accelerating and low-cost deployment of these technologies in industrial production.

The consortium consists of academic partners, system integrators and end-users in the fields of advanced robotics, process and manufacturing automation, digital twins and artificial intelligence. They represent the entire value chain for DIGITOP, starting with research at low TRLs, continuing through several development stages aiming at raising TRLs and finally moving towards the market. The partners are familiar with the research ecosystem in these areas and have the expertise and research facilities to achieve the project's objectives. Academic partners and companies have worked together in joint projects in the past, which demonstrates their compatibility and ability to explore together. Among others, most of the DIGITOP partners have participated in the very successful previous Smart Specialisation Programme GOSTOP (Building Blocks, Tools and Systems for Factories of the Future). The project coordinator (IJS) has led a number of national and international research projects and has a strong in-house support and infrastructure for project coordination (project office). The companies (system integrators, robotics, process control and digitalisation solution providers) have a strong R&D component, which has ensured that the solutions developed under this project will actually reach the market in innovative steps.

The project is co-funded by the Republic of Slovenia, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, the Public Agency for Scientific Research and Innovation of the Republic of Slovenia and the European Union - NextGenerationEu.