New research project aims to revolutionize production systems supporting Modular Manufacturing and Distributed Control

Working towards a more flexible and adaptable industrial environment that can respond effectively to dynamic production requirements or changing market conditions.

Industry 4.0 represents the future of manufacturing, with a focus on seamless connectivity, automation, and the merging of physical and digital realms. MODAPTO, a new Horizon Europe funded research project, embraces this vision by harnessing the potential of Digital Twins (DTs) (i.e. virtual representations of each component or entity within a production system), for creating flexible industrial systems, capable of quickly adjusting to meet changing demands, product variations, or market conditions.

The project, motivated by the six principles of Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems (RMS), (i.e., modularity, scalability, convertibility, diagnosability, customization, and integrality), aims at promoting a combined view of these characteristics, to develop system practice-based industrial strategies for reconfiguration. Specifically, MODAPTO project will work on a new era of intelligent and agile manufacturing, where the integration of smart and connected Digital Twins (Interoperable DTs) revolutionizes the way components are optimized and modified.

As Mr. George Triantafyllou, Senior Project Manager in Athens Technology Center (and the project’s coordinator), stated, “through this innovative research, MODAPTO aims to empower industries engaged in modular manufacturing to achieve unprecedented levels of flexibility, efficiency, and productivity. By leveraging the intelligence and connectivity of DTs, manufacturers can rapidly adapt their production systems to accommodate changing demands, respond swiftly to market trends, and continuously optimize their operations.”