ABSTRACT
Over the last years several technologies and control systems have been developed toward the decentralization of automation control architectures for Cyber-Physical Production Systems (CPPSs). However, none of these technologies is in use yet. To overcome manufacturers' conservatism, migration strategies and decision-making approaches are required to support the adoption of the next generation of smart production systems.
This chapter presents a migration approach tailored to the migration of legacy automation systems toward the Industry 4.0 paradigm. As the implementation of a new, or even just modified, production control will have a direct impact on the existing production systems, the aim of the proposed strategy is to ensure a smooth and successful migration. The main goal is to mitigate risks related to the implementation of non-well-known solutions (e.g., Cyber-Physical Systems [CPSs], Internet-of-Things technologies, and plug-and-produce systems) by breaking down the migration path toward the Industry 4.0 paradigm in small incremental migration steps.
The presented migration approach is modeled using the Petri nets formalism in order to allow a proper validation and control of the process with the support of a specific user interface for the process implementation. Moreover, an exemplary application of the approach in a real industrial environment is provided to show the industrial benefit.
