IMS2020
Supporting Global Research (EU-NMP-CSA-CA 233469)
Researchers:
Prof. Dr. P. Schönsleben, M. Vodicka, K. Bunse, O. Schneider, C. Schneider
Partners:
Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering
(DIG) Politecnico di Milano (IT)
BWI Center for Industrial Management, ETH Zurich (CH)
Research Institute for Rationalization and Operations Management (FIR) at Aachen
University of Technology (DE)
Fatronik (ES)
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (CH)
Norges Teknisk Naturvitenskapelige Universitet (NOR)
Joint Research Centre – Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) (ES)
CNR – Istituto di Tecnologie Industrialied Automazione (IT)
COMAU S.p.A. (IT)
European Committee for Standardization (CEN) (EU)
Holcim (CH)
Clemson University (US)
Rockwell Collins (US)
Keio University (JAP)
Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KOR)
Financed by:
EU-NMP (Seventh Framework Program)
Contract No.:
CSA-CA 233469 IMS2020
Website:
General Description:
IMS2020 is a project funded by the NMP division of the European Commission (CSA-CA 233469) and conducted by an international consortium from Europe, Japan, Korea, Switzerland and the USA. The project focuses on the creation of roadmaps towards Intelligent Manufacturing Systems (IMS). The roadmaps highlight the main milestones of innovation activities (R&D, management and policy actions) needed to achieve a desired vision for the year 2020.
The project is focusing on five Key Areas (KATs): Sustainable manufacturing, Energy-efficient manufacturing, Key technologies, Standardization, and Training.
Objectives:
IMS2020 strives to strengthen international cooperation under the IMS Initiative, providing an effective interface for ongoing European roadmapping activities and creating research synergies through the establishment of international manufacturing communities in the five Key Areas.
In summary, the project has five main scientific and technical objectives:
1. Preparation of a roadmap for future manufacturing
2. Identification of new schemes and frameworks
3. Stimulation of the participation of SME in R&D projects
4. Community building, establishment and consolidation
5. Support of new IMS proposals:
BWI Tasks:
- Leader of the KAT “Energy Efficient Manufacturing”, which aims to reduce the use of energy resources and the carbon footprint by considering innovative methods and technologies.
- Leader of the work package “Cooperation between IMS Regions”. This work package strives to support global cooperation by increasing participation in IMS projects and facilitating SME involvement. Furthermore, it aims to identify opportunities for synergies in international collaboration with the IMS.
Results:
The roadmaps developed in the IMS2020 project focus on the identification of relevant manufacturing Research Topics (RTs), which need to be fostered through international cooperation and would begin between 2011 and 2013. These RTs have been grouped into so-called Research Actions (RAs), which – when implemented – will allow the achievement of the defined IMS2020 Vision. In this way, the future manufacturing systems can be shaped towards the year 2020 and beyond (Fig. 1).
The roadmaps have been developed with an approach designed to ensure the highest relevance for the industrial community. Furthermore, the relevance of the results on the international level has been ensured by involving all IMS regions. The work took into account current endeavors at both the European and international level, proposing roadmaps in the field of manufacturing. In fact, 20 existing roadmaps on the global level and 13 ongoing research projects have been mapped, leading to the identification of 754 research issues. The development of the roadmaps has been supported by collaborative tools shared with all of the so-called Roadmapping Support Group (RSG). The RSG is a growing community which currently includes 254 participants from 108 mainly industrial organizations.
Following the mapping, an online survey with 261 responses, two brainstorming workshops with around 30 participants each, and 106 interviews were conducted. All of these activities involved professionals not only from Europe, but also from Japan, Korea and the US as well as other, non-IMS regions. Based on the findings, the IMS2020 team developed a vision for manufacturing in the year 2020 and defined a set of 62 Research Topics to be implemented to support this vision. Finally, the research topics were prioritized through a second online survey, with 359 responses. Here, the interest of the different IMS regions to participate in collaborative research projects on the specific Research Topics was also addressed. Within the framework of the project, the first IMS summer school with the topic “Sustainable Manufacturing” was held at the ETH Zurich from 26-28 May 2010. 27 participants from academia and industry discussed novel approaches in the areas of: “Sustainable life cycle of products and production systems” and “Sustainable products and production, services and maintenance”. The IMS2020 roadmap was officially presented at the IMS World Manufacturing Forum, 16 - 17 May 2011.
