UdZ 2-2013

20 Unternehmen der Zukunft 2/2013 UdZ Informationsmanagement Sense&React: The context-aware and user centric in- formation distribution system for manufacturing The elicitation of requirements within Sense & React is almost completed Lack of information as well as information overflow are major challenges in production companies, especially on the shop floor. The “Sense&React“ project aims to develop an ICT platform that aggregates the data from site-wide sensor networks, ERP, MES and information management systems and provides the user with relevant and role specific information, con- sidering the user’s cognitive load. Using this optimized distribution of information processes for optimization of production efficiency, energy efficiency and safety will be improved and automated. As a basis for the development of such a complex platform, an extensive require- ments analysis using a state-of-the-art requirements engineeringmethodology was conducted. In addition, a detailed concept for the optimisation of energy efficiency is being developed; the concept’s technological implementation will be part of the Sense&React platform. The project is funded by the EU (no. 314350) within the 7th framework (call FoF-ICT-2011.7.1: Smart Factories) programme. Manufacturing companies often face the chal- lenge that employees receive insufficient infor- mation about their work environment on the shop floor and therefore are not able to react to changes in a flexible way. Many companies already collect a considerable amount of sensor data on the shop floor and pass it over to the information and telecommunications systems (ICT) using e.g. WiFi. Sensor data is mostly modelled as events, and is expected to grow substantially in the future [1]. However, the further processing by ICT systems does often not efficiently support processing and qualita- tive feedback to the shop-floor personnel [2]. Therefore a lot of valuable information is lost: • Within manufacturing facilities information is often not submitted as required to the various roles (e. g. production personnel, engineers, etc.). • The information infrastructure cannot suc- cessfully aggregate, analyse and provide data context from enterprise wide distributed sen- sor networks (such as NFC, RFID) and various data sources such as MES or ERP. • In particular, the integration of energy data is often inadequate. • The cognitive load (amount of information a person can process) of shop floor personnel is not or only insufficiently considered. • User interfaces are often too complex and require too much effort in the operation to use the applications’ powers efficiently. Funded by the European Commission, the Sense&React research project addresses these challenges. In the project, a factory-wide sensor and ICT infrastructure will be implemented; the data will be collected on the shop floor, interpreted in the particular context, aggregated Project title Sense&React Research Funding Organisation EU Commission Project Number 314350 Project Partner SAP Deutschland AG & Co. AG; University of Patras; Electrolux Italia S.P.A.; INTRASOFT INTERNATIONAL SA; EMPHASIS TELEMATICS AE; Högskolan i Skövde; Technische Universität Dresden; Ascom Holding AG; VOLVO TECHNOLOGY AB; INSTITUTO SUPERIOR TECNICO; Estaleiros Navais de Peniche S.A. Contact Person Dipl. Math. Ruth Cremer Pursuing Link www.sense-react.eu figure 1: Sense and React Approach