The Teaching Factory Concept: Making the Car of Tomorrow

General description

In 2050...

Customer: Good morning, I would like a Tesla Roadster.

Seller: Take away or not?

Customer: Take away, please. I am on a hurry...

Seller: OK Sir, it will be ready in 5 minutes!

This will be a typical conversation in a few years since the application of the Digital Technologies to the Automotive Industry will not only decrease the required production time, but at the same time it will improve flexibility and quality of services.

So, are you ready to spend 10 unforgettable days in Patras, experiencing first hand the digital technologies that are transforming the manufacturing paradigm, using a Virtual Reality Cave to design, 3D printing and human-robot symbiotics to manufacture, Augmented Reality tools to assemble the Cyber-Physical Car of Tomorrow and simultaneously enjoy a lot of tzatziki nearby the sea under the Greek sun? If your answer is YES, don't be shy, just apply to our awesome BEST Summer Course in Patras!

We are waiting for you back from the future!

Academic information

Fields of activity:
Aerospace/Aeronautical Engineering , Computational Sciences , Computer Engineering , Computer Science/Automatic Control/Informatics , Control Engineering/Systems engineering , Electrical/Electromechanical Engineering , Electronic/Electrotechnical Engineering , Industrial Engineering , Industrial Management , Machine & Instrument engineering/Design , Mechanical Engineering , Mechatronics , Production Engineering/Management
Content and topics:
1. “When Engineers rest, World rusts.” [Lecture: 1h] Engineers have formed the backbone of the modern world. This lecture will focus on what it means to be an engineer, what the everyday topics that engineering has helped evolving are, and how the engineering science itself has evolved over the years. 2. Digital technologies for the Factories of the Future [Lecture: 2h] Moving on to the 4th Industrial Revolution involves integration of novel digital technologies in various aspects of design and manufacturing. The lecture will focus on presenting what factories of the future involve, what are the key enabling technologies that will support this transition, and how factories of the future will look like by implementing digital technologies. 3. Operators’ Skills and Competences in the new digital era [Lecture: 2h] Advancing to the new digital era requires more than just new technologies and high- tech equipment, but also well-trained personnel to exploit them in their advantage. On the road to the factories of the future, it is important to understand the new requirements for the people involved in manufacturing, connecting novel technologies with the theoretical and technical background required in order to fully unlock their capabilities. 4. The Teaching Factory Paradigm [Lecture: 2h] Teaching Factory is a new paradigm for manufacturing education, which links together industrial and academic/research actors around Europe. It operates as a virtual forum of actors around manufacturing, organizing teaching content and delivery mechanisms on a modular basis, matching teaching demands and offers from manufacturing actors, encouraging teaching through practice and facilitating the launch of teaching/training channels communicating manufacturing knowledge. 5. Cloud, IoT and Quality of Services [Lecture: 2h] As modern IoT devices generate an increase amount of data, it is essential to effectively manage them as well as making them accessible anywhere in the world. This lecture will introduce participants to the emerging technologies around the exploitation of industrial data through cloud technology and analytics so as to improve the quality of services. 6. Advanced Manufacturing Processes [Lecture: 2h] Manufacturing processes are the basis of manufacturing. Modern engineers have a broad portfolio of manufacturing processes (including advanced manufacturing technologies) to select from, each with its’ own benefits and shortcomings. This lecture will provide an insight in advanced manufacturing processes, presenting their working principles, benefits and classifying them according to the production needs. In addition, processes will be linked with monitoring & data acquisition, data analytics and control using digital technologies in order to improve manufacturing efficiency. 7. Cyber Physical Car and Cyber Security [Lecture: 2h] This lecture will focus in presenting the changes in the automotive landscape as it regards sensing & communication systems, moving from a purely mechanical construction to a “cyber-physical” car. In addition, state-of-art in research will be presented, including communication protocols that will enable the car to connect with its surroundings as well as with the Cloud, while ensuring high level of security, making cars of the future “Things” in the IoT ecosystem. 8. Virtual (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) [Laboratory: 3h] VR technology can be valuable for the design of products. In a virtual environment, once the application has been built and set up, the engineer is able to experiment, while changing, modifying and interacting with the design. In addition, AR technologies can be used to support the human operator in complex manufacturing tasks by overlaying virtual information on the physical environment. During this lab, the students will get a hands-on experience in both scenarios. The first one will involve design evaluation in an AR/VR CAVE, while the second one will involve interactive assembly of automotive components in a human-robot collaborative environment using AR instructions. 9. Human-Robot Symbiotics [Workshop: 3h] Workshop focusing on teaching students the basics of robot programming. The students will be split into groups and given instructions on how to program basic robot motions. Subsequently they will integrate a simple gripper and configure the robot to use it in order to pick up a marker. Students will then program the robot to write on a whiteboard using reference points. 10. 3D Printing [Laboratory: 3h] 3D printing (or Additive Manufacturing as known to the manufacturing community) is a set of emerging digital manufacturing technologies, able to directly produce parts from their digital designs. 3D printing enables fast and efficient customization and personalization of components and therefore it is expected to disrupt the manufacturing paradigm, including cars of tomorrow. In this lab, students will get a hands-on experience with 3D printing, preparing and manufacturing customized parts for a Formula Student racecar. 11. Cyber-Physical Car: The Formula Student example [Laboratory: 2h] Formula Student is an engineering contest aiming to design and manufacture a prototype racecar. The LMS Formula Student car goes over and above, being designed and manufactured using state-of-art digital technologies, as well as integrating sensing and communication capabilities, making it a Cyber-Physical Car. During this lab, the students will use Augmented Reality tools in order to be given interactive instructions for the assembly of certain subsystems.
Learning goals and objectives:
Moving towards a digitalization era, it is highly important to adapt to the changes to come. Internet of Things and Cloud technologies applications become part of the everyday life, shaping how products are made and the Smart Cities they operate in. This Course revolves around a Teaching Factory that will give the participants hands-on experience on how novel digital technologies will shape the manufacturing of Car of Tomorrow. The course comprises academic lectures, labs and workshops as well as a company visit, aiming at providing a broad picture of the technologies, challenges and research topics for the factories of the future, while maintaining a balance between theory and practice. Through these activities, participants will experience how Digitization and Virtual Reality offer new ways of product design and validation through digital mock-ups. At the same time they will acquire hands-on experience of novel manufacturing concepts and technologies, including 3D printing that will enable mass customization and Human-Robot symbiotics supported by Augmented Reality instructions that will offer new ways of assembling complex parts, on the road towards manufacturing the Cyber-Physical Car of tomorrow.
Examination type:
Continuous Assessment & Final Written Exam Virtual and Augmented Reality Laboratory: 20% Human-Robot Symbiotics Workshop: 20% 3D Printing Laboratory: 20% Final Written Exam: 40%
ECTS credits issued:
1.0

Information for applicants

Selection criteria:
Motivational Letter, Interest in the topic, Questions

Practical arrangements

All of the following are covered by the event fee:

Lodging:
University's Dormitories or Hotel
Meals:
University's restaurant, restaurants in the city and home cooked meals by organizers (breakfast and two hot meals per day)
Transportation:
Buses, Patras Suburban Railway, organizers' cars