A resource & capability virtualization method for cloud manufacturing systems

Resources should be virtualized before they are deployed to cloud manufacturing systems. In this paper, a method is proposed for resource virtualization by transforming manufacturing resources into cloud services through two phases. Manufacturing resource features are comprehensively analyzed. A virtual specification is established for describing heterogeneous manufacturing resources in an isomorphic manner. By extracting characteristics of resources, an algorithm is proposed for resources partitioning according to manufacturing capabilities. Resources are encapsulated as cloud services and deployed to the cloud service platform, where manufacturing resources can be shared and accessed by heterogeneous applications in cloud manufacturing systems.