Sensor information as a service – component of networked production

Metrology has a key position in networked, adaptive production, with the task of a holistic and valid assessment of the state of various production scenarios. With the diminishing focus on a device-specific development towards an adaptive production network, which is less hierarchical in the sense of the “Internet of production”, and with the focus on the properties of cyber-physical systems (CPSs), new opportunities for the strengthening of metrology arise. Characteristic of these CPSs are sensors for multi-modal data acquisition, actuators for interaction with the environment, distributed computing power and the ability to spontaneously or permanently network itself. They form the basis for the creation of a “digital shadow” and thus are essential components of a model for process control. Current trends and challenges for metrology in networked production, such as multi-sensor systems, model-based measurements, virtual measurement processes or the integration into adaptable production systems, broaden the boundaries of future requirements of metrology, in particular with regard to its flexibility, speed and compatibility. A prerequisite is a scalable, specifiable information fusion. A solution to this is the service-based provision of sensor information, measurement data and decisions, which can be flexibly adapted to task-specific requirements. For this concept of “sensor information as a service”, development stages and prerequisites for its implementation as well as affected areas are discussed.