Cisco and UCLan to create the factory of the future
1 min read
The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) is partnering with Cisco to deliver what the pair are describing as cutting edge digital technology for manufacturers.
Cisco has provided specialist equipment and expertise to improve the industrial networking environment in the world's first tele-immersive digital manufacturing (TiM) lab, developed by the UCLan Advanced Digital Manufacturing Technology Research Centre at the university's Burnley campus.
Professor Lik-Kwan Shark, head of the UCLan centre says TiM represents UCLan's vision to improve manufacturing competitiveness and is effectively a lab-based miniature factory of the future.
He explains that the lab uses a range of digital sensing technologies to acquire a range of manufacturing data, such as process performance, product variance and energy consumption.
Its digital data processing technologies execute manufacturing adaptively based on data, he says, while digital communication mean that production can be controlled remotely.
"The state-of-the-art industrial network infrastructure provided by Cisco Systems will make it possible for high volume manufacturing data to be transmitted securely in real-time," states Shark.
"Not only will TiM acts as a pilot plant for manufacturing companies to test drive digital transformation, thereby accelerating the journey to knowledge-based high performance manufacturing, but also it will provide UCLan's students with hands-on experience of a full spectrum of digital technologies in an ultra-realistic manufacturing environment."
He expects Cisco's investment to allow UCLan to work more closely with companies across a range of sectors, including aerospace, automotive and energy, which, he explains, can use the digital manufacturing lab to improve their competitiveness.
"UCLan is the first and the only university with the very latest industrial networking system from Cisco Systems with full technical support," comments Cisco Systems senior director for EMEA and Russia, Ian Kennedy.
"Partnering with UCLan will ensure the unique development of TiM to stay at the forefront across all digital technology areas. It was incredibly important for Cisco Systems and UCLan to make this investment and highlight to the manufacturing sector the huge impact of digital innovation in all aspects and all levels of their operations."
