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Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000
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Procedia Manufacturing 35 (2019) 1178–1183

2nd International Conference on Sustainable Materials Processing and Manufacturing

2nd International Conference on Sustainable Materials Processing and Manufacturing
(SMPM 2019)
(SMPM 2019)
An intralogistics-oriented Cyber-Physical System for workshop
An intralogistics-oriented Cyber-Physical System for workshop
in the context of Industry 4.0
in the context of Industry 4.0
Jihong Yan*, Mingyang Zhang, Zimin Fu
Jihong Yan*, Mingyang Zhang, Zimin Fu
School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Dazhi 92, 150001 Harbin, China
School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Dazhi 92, 150001 Harbin, China

Abstract
Abstract
The internal logistics in the shop-floor is extremely sophisticated for the variability and complexity of products in Industry 4.0
environment. Cyber-Physical
The internal logistics System (CPS)
in the shop-floor which combines
is extremely computer
sophisticated science,
for the information
variability and communication
and complexity of products technologies is
in Industry 4.0
aenvironment.
critical solution to achieve System
Cyber-Physical Industry(CPS)
4.0. To tackle
which with personalized
combines production,
computer science, high flexibility
information and rapid reconfiguration
and communication technologies is
capabilities of internal
a critical solution logistics
to achieve are required
Industry 4.0. To in shop-floor.
tackle Intralogistics-oriented
with personalized CPS flexibility
production, high is discussedandinrapid
this reconfiguration
paper and the
framework
capabilitiesofofmodels in cyber
internal space
logistics arefor the equipment
required under the
in shop-floor. environment are presented.
Intralogistics-oriented CPS isThrough
discussed the in
utilization
this paperof wireless
and the
sensors
frameworkandofcontrollers,
models in acyber
remote management
space platformunder
for the equipment is implemented. Equipment
the environment interconnection,
are presented. Through the logistics scheduling
utilization and
of wireless
remote
sensors operation are realized
and controllers, by portable
a remote managementterminals via Internet.
platform The effectiveness
is implemented. Equipmentofinterconnection,
the proposed solution
logisticsisscheduling
verified inand
an
actual
remoteproduction
operation workshop.
are realized by portable terminals via Internet. The effectiveness of the proposed solution is verified in an
actual production workshop.
© 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
© 2019 The Authors.
Peer-review Published by of Elsevier B.V. committee of SMPM 2019.
© 2019 The under responsibility
Authors. Published by the organizing
Elsevier B.V.
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of SMPM 2019.
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of SMPM 2019.
Keywords: Cyber-Physical System; intralogistics; models in cyber space; production workshop
Keywords: Cyber-Physical System; intralogistics; models in cyber space; production workshop

1. Introduction
1. Introduction
The increasingly fierce competition around the world and the development of technology such as Internet of Things
The increasingly
(IoT) fierce
have promoted thecompetition around
forth industrial the world
revolution and
[1]. the development
Demands of technology such
for high-individualized as Internet
products of Things
and services has
(IoT) have
caused promotedcomplexity
the extreme the forth industrial revolution
of materials [1]. which
in factories Demands for high-individualized
cannot be coped with perviousproducts and anymore
methods services has
[2,
caused
3]. The the extreme
internal and complexity of materials
external logistics have toinadapt
factories which
to this cannot be
environment forcoped with pervious
the stability methods anymore [2,
and punctuality
3]. The internal and external logistics have to adapt to this environment for the stability and punctuality

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +86-0451-8640-2972; fax: +86-0451-8640-2972.

* E-mail address:author.
Corresponding jyan@hit.edu.cn (J. Yan)
Tel.: +86-0451-8640-2972; fax: +86-0451-8640-2972.
E-mail address: jyan@hit.edu.cn (J. Yan)
2351-9789 © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Peer-review
2351-9789 ©under
2019responsibility
The Authors. of the organizing
Published committee
by Elsevier B.V. of SMPM 2019.
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of SMPM 2019.

2351-9789 © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of SMPM 2019.
10.1016/j.promfg.2019.06.074
 Jihong Yan et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 35 (2019) 1178–1183 1179
2 Author name / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000

of delivery or transportation [4]. The scheduling of logistics in shop-floor under this environment have been one of
the research hotspots.
Cyber-Physical System (CPS) combines computer science, information and communication technologies for the
interaction between the physical and the cyber world [5, 6]. Sensors and controllers are deployed for the
monitoring and control of the physical processes. The cyber space, which has the strong capability of computing,
storage and the like, is responsible for data analysis to make strategic decisions on the real world [7].
Intralogistics is the process of material delivery in the shop-floor which has a tremendous impact on production.
According to production plan, a certain amount of raw materials should be delivered to workstations timely and
stably. Various vehicles, the key equipment executing logistics tasks, for example forklift, crane and automated
guided vehicle (AGV) are deployed to delivery these materials, semi-finished and finished production in shop-floor
[8]. AGVs have developed into reliable and efficient equipment since their debut in 1950s [9]. It is critical to
ensure that AGVs are scheduled properly and efficiently for high performance of intralogistics in industry 4.0
environment.
Aiming at the interaction of heterogeneous objects, this paper attempts to provide a CPS-based solution for
logistics in shop-floor. Models of typical processes in cyber space for instance logistics were established,
meanwhile methods of implementation were investigated. The framework of cyber-physical system was proposed
on the basis of the IoT, Information Technology (IT) and other related technologies.

2. Framework of intralogistics-oriented CPS

A model of CPS proposed by Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering of RWTH Aachen
University was divided into five levels which are general conditions indicating setting basics, information
generation meaning creating transparency, information processing standing for increasing understanding,
information linking indicating improving decision making, and the last one, interacting cyber-physical systems for
self-optimizing [10]. The sensoring of physical world is mainly in the creating transparency level, also known as
the second level, through the construction of the basic condition for CPS implementation within the first level. The
other three levels represent the process of data analysis for the better cooperation and collaboration between
physical and cyber world. The maturity model emphases more on the data analysis and information exchange.
However, there are few descriptions on the construction about sensoring and networking environment for the
implementation of CPS. Methods of data acquirement, its transmission and feedback are crucial for physical cyber
fusion. To handle with the intralogistics more specifically and directly, the four-level framework for intralogistics-
oriented CPS was presented shown in the Fig. 1.

Fig. 1. Framework for intralogistics-oriented CPS

3
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Author name / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000 3

The first level is data acquisition from related raw materials, semi-finished product, finished product and
equipment. Through sensors, controllers or even management systems, data of physical entities are measured or
obtained. For instance, information about parts are acquired by RFID system and position of AGVs are measured
by image sensors along code bars. The second level, shown in Fig.1, is networking. Each entity in shop-floor is
connected together via this network, which means that physical world and cyber space are interactive. Transfer
protocol such as TCP, UDP and even Zigbee are supported by this network for collaborative awareness and
control. Meanwhile, related data and knowledge are stored in the third level, namely as cognition level where cloud
computing and analysis could be conducted. Based on the cognition, applications and services are deployed in the
last level, to fulfill the closed-loop control with or without human intervention. For intralogistics, the applications
supported by intelligent algorithms and machine learning are divided into task assignment, route scheduling,
decision making and so on. Information generation, processing, linking and even interacting of cyber-physical
system could be realized under this framework.

3. Modeling for cyber intralogistics system

Typical physical information such as the locations of AGVs, the status of workstations and workpieces are selected
to represent physical processes and their corresponding equipment which are utilized to formulate accurate models
[11]. Considering their complexity and heterogeneity, main three processes are defined, namely material handling,
production and storage processes. Models in cyber space for these three processes are constructed through the
definition of input and output which define the data to be obtained and provide supports for the data exchange. The
efficient fusion of physical and cyber world is achieved through the definition of a variety of DAQ solutions for
different kinds of objects. These three models are linked together for a better coordination among physical entities.
Details about these models are as follows.

3.1. Modeling for material handling process in cyber space

Material handling process is defined as the series actions in the process of material delivery on shop-floor. These
actions, including the delivery of raw materials, components and products, are executed by AGVs which are
controlled through the management system [9, 12]. To ensure the stability of production, AGVs need to be
scheduled properly considering the environment, orders and other factors. The input of the process is defined as a
vector, which is Input = {Material Requirement: (type, model, quantity, delivery time...), Environment
Information: (route, obstacle, charge pile...), AGVs Status: (voltage, speed, load, location…)}, and the output
could be defined as Output = {Scheduling Scheme: (route optimization, task assignment...), Handling Efficiency:
(distance, cycle time...)}.

3.2. Modeling for production process in cyber space

There are three kinds of key entities in the production process, parts or components, workstations and workers. The
workstation is where the components or workpieces handled and this process is performed by workers. The input
information of the process is a triple, {Component status: (type, model, quality, quantity, position...), Process
scheme: (order, cycle time, process technology...), Worker Status: (action, distance of joints, angle of skeleton...}.
The output could be presented as Output = {Production Efficiency: (processing quality, operating time, idle rate...),
Process Strategy: (line balance, material requirements...), Worker Performance: (degree of fatigue,
performance…)}. The detailed information is utilized to analyze the performance for workers and stations. The
model of the whole production process could be constructed by real-time acquisition of relating features, therefore,
the monitoring and analysis could be achieved meanwhile strategies be designed to ensure the stability of
production.

3.3. Modeling for storage process in cyber space

Products and warehouses are the main entities in the storage process. The warehouse is the starting and ending
point of production process. The input information of storage could be represented as Input = {Mission Order:
(order, replenishment...), Load Status: (parts, type, quantity, consume rate, position...)}. The output information
includes inventory strategy and storage efficiency, which are represented as Output = {Storage Efficiency:
 Jihong Yan et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 35 (2019) 1178–1183 1181
4 Author name / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000

(coefficient of utilization, cost...), Inventory Strategy: (order policies, order-point, order-bath...)}. Data related to
the inventory volume and products are acquired timely. Meanwhile, there are also some information acquired from
others model supporting the data analysis and decision making.
Through these models in cyber space, the interconnection and communication among these heterogeneous facilities
and resources are enabled, which support the coordination of cyber and physical world.

4. System implementation
4.1. Design of prototype system for CPS based intralogistics

A prototype system based on the proposed framework of intralogistics-based CPS for shop-floor was developed to
verify the capability of monitoring and controlling for multi-type and multi-location equipment involved in typical
internal logistics processes. It has each equipment in the production workshop connected over the Internet. IoT in
the workshop is the fundamental of coordination and collaboration of each equipment. The production workshop
includes a production line, workers, AGVs, storage racks and so on. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
readers, ZigBee nodes and other sensors are installed in the corresponding equipment and connected to the Internet
through LAN in the workshops. The collected data will be gathered to the database in the production workshop.
Jobs in the production shop-floor could be described as follows: procuring or getting components in line with lists,
delivering, organizing production and storage. The expected features for production shop-floor are intelligent
delivery of workpieces, line balancing, inventory control and so on.

4.2. Key technology of intralogistics sensoring

Sensors and controllers are necessitated for sensoring and controlling of physical entities in cyber-physical system.
For acquiring input information of the three models mentioned above, RFID, image sensors and infrared sensors are
utilized to monitor the process of logistics, production and storage.
RFID is a noncontact automatic identification technology without manual intervention [13]. Both RF tags and RF
tag readers consist the identification system. Each product or component could be labeled by tags plastered on
itself where the information is acquired through tag readers. Tag readers installed on the workstation could be used
for the analysis of remain workpieces, the track of production process and something like that. According to the
framework described in Fig. 1, for the accuracy and stability of transmission, these data are transmitted to the cyber
space via TCP protocol for further analysis and strategies.
The navigation system of AGV might consist of the colored tape, code tape, control tape and reading head. AGVs
go forward along the colored tape. The control code and the code tape carriers for the X or Y position and
navigation correspondingly. The reading head, which is one kind of CMOS image vision, is as a decoder to output
X or Y position and the control number. Besides, protocol interfaces including RS 485, CANopen and Profinet are
supported by the image sensor for the convenience of data transmission.
To acquire the running status information of AGVs more comprehensively and precisely, sensors perceiving the
working voltage, obstacle and stuff like that have to be arranged on AGV. Infrared sensor is aiming at the
perception of front barriers. These messages are also conveyed to model for decision making about route
scheduling and task assignment.

4.3. Intelligent Intralogistics system

Intralogistics tasks including delivery of raw materials from material center to workstation and finished product
from workstation to storage rack are executed through AGVs under the environment. Therefore, efficient
scheduling scheme for AGVs are critical to ensure the stable of production. Not only the information about AGVs
but also the environment, orders and other related data are required for decision making. States and statistical
results related to production could be gotten by managers such as worker performance, production efficiency
through visualization interface. In the model of production process, the time and position for each product
delivered to the storage racks are recorded and the utilization rate of the equipment are analyzed. Meanwhile,
running status of AGVs and replenishment strategies could be revealed in the model for storage process. Intelligent
algorithms are designed and applied to do the task assignment and generate the route schemes of AGVs in this
model. The process of scheduling of AGVs is shown in the Fig. 2. In the structure, the link and interaction between
1182 Jihong Yan et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 35 (2019) 1178–1183
Author name / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000 5

the intralogistics system and the other two in cyber space are depicted clearly. In the whole process, rescheduling
of AGVs were driven by the time and event in shop-floor at the same time.

Fig. 2. Block diagram for CPS based multi-AGVs scheduling

4.4. Implementation of CPS

Based on the prototype system, a management platform was developed, which includes three modules: the
production line management, the storage management and the intralogistics management, to coordinate the
production in an actual workshop consisted with a production line, storage rack and raw material center. There are
31 stations including 1 station for charging, 1 station besides the storage rack, 1 station besides the quality control
center, 12 stations besides workstations, 3 stations for dock and remained for the mark of route, for AGVs in the
workshop which are decided by its layout.
Portable terminals including tablets and laptops with Windows 10 operation system are chosen to support the
management platform developed in C#. Accessed to the network in the shop-floor, the platform could be used to
monitor and control the process of intralogistics, production and so on. The input information of models for
intralogistics process are utilized to generate corresponding scheduling strategies. Commands, including the
destinations, the route selection and so on, are given to AGVs via network for delivery or related operations
through the management system. On-line map was designed to illustrate the positon of AGVs in real time in which
main areas in the shop-floor were marked, such as production line, storage racks and material center. All 31
stations of AGVs were labeled in the map including the charge station. Tasks acquired and assigned timely were
shown in the left and right of interface correspondingly. Not only was the monitoring of intralogistics realized, but
intelligent control and decision making were supported through the data analysis and interconnection in the system.

5. Conclusions
This paper proposed an intralogistics-oriented cyber-physical system solution to tackle with the complex logistics
problem in the intelligent shop floor. The four-level framework for intralogistics under this environment was
constructed. Models for three typical processes in cyber space of workshop intralogistics were presented in which
detailed input and output information were depicted. The proposed methods were verified in an actual production
workshop achieving the interoperability and interaction between heterogeneous objects to enhance the production
 Jihong Yan et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 35 (2019) 1178–1183 1183
6 Author name / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000

efficiency. These technologies could be utilized to acquire various types of data for physical cyber fusion.
Intelligent applications based on the models realize the information understanding, decision making and even
interacting. The proposed framework combined with the models provided technique supports for the coordination
of information technology and advanced manufacturing industry.

Acknowledgements

This work is funded by NSF-NSFC (Grand No. 51561125002).

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