ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the design of the Production harmonizEd Reconfiguration of Flexible Robots and Machinery (PERFoRM) system architecture based on smart production components, compliant with Industry 4.0 principles, which is able to support the seamless system reconfiguration and enhance planning, simulation, and operational feature. The PERFoRM system architecture will cover the different layers of the automation pyramid defined by ISA-95, and particularly the layers L2 (Supervisory Control) and L3 (Manufacturing Operations Management), by providing an infrastructure and methodology to deploy the new generation of automation systems in the form of distributed cloud-based automation systems, following the principles sustained by Industry 4.0 (Kagermann, Wahlster, and Helbig 2013) and the factories of the future program (The European Factories of the Future Research Association 2013). In fact, the PERFoRM system architecture should provide the means for both the vertical and horizontal system integration, as well as support different phases of a system life cycle, mainly following the RAMI4.0 specifications (DIN SPEC 91345:2016-04 2016; IEC 2017).
