Machine-to-Machine Communication

Imagine a widespread manufacturing plant equipped with smart machinery and RFID-enabled technology. All machines are interconnected and communicate through their sensors and actuators as they work their way through the manufacturing process. Operators use wireless pads and connect to production systems for diagnostics and manufacturing oversight. Machine load, status, and diagnosis data are further aggregated in enterprise systems for resource planning and production optimization. The machines receive usage feedback to adjust production schemes and therefore optimize cost and quality. The machines also communicate with their own manufacturers to request repairs or order new parts to avoid costly outages. Agent-based systems allocate load to machines in a distributed, often global, production setup to optimize supply chain cost. This is a growing reality in what we call the smart factory. The smart factory of the future is far more agile than the approaches in today´s flexible manufacturing. The smart factory connects the machines, devices, logistics, and humans to perform the necessary coordination ubiquitously and ad hoc.