AI for Industry 4.0 Mechatronic Systems

This book follows both threads, from robotic decision-making, precision machining, and autonomous material handling through to the security of the interfaces through which such systems are operated. Industry 4.0 has changed what is expected of a mechatronic system. It is no longer enough for a machine to execute a fixed program reliably; it is expected to decide, adapt, collaborate safely with the people around it, and remain trustworthy while doing so over a network. The convergence of operational and information technology has been decisive here. A modern machine tool, robot cell, or autonomous vehicle is commanded through human–machine interfaces, supervised through remote dashboards, and updated over the same networks that carry business traffic, so the boundary that once separated the factory floor from the enterprise has effectively dissolved. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are the technologies making these systems capable, and increasingly the technologies protecting them.