A Multi-Perspective Data Model for Cyber Physical Production Networks

Recently, the research on data management is moving towards the design of data models for Cyber Physical Production Networks. They constitute ecosystems where cyber and engineered physical elements record data (e.g., using sensors), analyse them using connected services (e.g., over cloud computing infrastructures) and interact with human actors using multi-channel interfaces, going beyond the boundaries of a single enterprise and spanning over the whole production network. In this paper, we propose a conceptual data model that relates the digital counterpart of a product with data collected over the phases of the product lifecycle, with special attention on the manufacturing process, and with data gathered to monitor the shop floor machines used during the production. This enables the development of multi-perspective data services that implement advanced business goals at the production network level, such as production scheduling, energy efficiency, product and process monitoring. We provide an architecture of the proposed solution and its preliminary validation in an ongoing industrial research project.