The project FABRICARE, led by Ceit, drives smart industrial manufacturing.
20 | 06 | 2024
The technology center Ceit leads the project FABRICARE to optimize current processes with the deployment of safe, collaborative and intelligent manufacturing through robotics, interfaces and digital twins.
The project has been funded with 3.4 million euros by the CDTI through the Cervera Call for Technology Centers 2023.
Intelligent and collaborative industrial manufacturing is experiencing significant advances thanks to innovations such as virtual and augmented reality, mobile robotics and cyber-physical systems. The use of these technologies makes it possible to optimize machine designs, improve the maintenance and control of production plants, or improve the training of operators, opening up the market to development of new industrial applications and business opportunities. Therefore, companies are increasingly demanding this subject of solutions that allow them to improve production processes, reduce times, and increase safety, while saving costs.
In this context, arises the project FABRICARE (Collaborative, safe and intelligent manufacturing through advanced interfaces, robotics and digital twins), an initiative that researches and develops lines of work that contemplate different technologies within intelligent manufacturing in collaborative environments. Funded with 3.4 million euros by the CDTI through the Cervera Call for Technology Centers of Excellence 2023, it is led by the technology center Ceit, in partnership with the technology centers CTC, Tecnalia, Ikerlan and Aidimme.
A new factory concept
FABRICARE's integrated vision is to improve current manufacturing processes with the use of collaborative and mobile robotics, as well as reliable sensing systems and their integration into a digital twin modeling and simulation platform. "This platform will allow to simulate and analyze in advance the production process, but also to monitor and control the process in real time" explains Diego Borro, coordinator of project and researcher of Ceit. To interact with this platform, advanced interfaces based on different technologies will be developed.
In addition to coordinating the project, Ceit will provide its knowledge and expertise for the development of digital twins for simulation, new haptic interfaces, advanced controllers for collaborative manipulators, environment sensing sensorics and localization of mobile robots by merging optical techniques with radio frequency. "This project is a very important milestone for Ceit. On the one hand, it is a recognition of the more than 20 years of group of research, and, on the other hand, it will allow us to make a qualitative leap and position ourselves as reference letter at national level", says Diego.
Increased efficiency and effectiveness
FABRICARE promises a major boost in the partnership between technology centers and companies in the sector, thanks to advanced virtual and augmented reality technologies, as well as collaborative environments between people and robots. The initiative is expected to transform the factory into a more flexible, automated, connected, social and intelligent space. Technological improvements include optimizing machine designs, plant maintenance and control, training of operators, attendance and incident resolution, and the implementation of Industry 4.0. At final, improving processes, reducing times, increasing safety and saving on costs, which will result in an increase in the effectiveness and efficiency of manufacturing processes and capital goods of companies and materializing in the reduction of lead times of submission.
