Implementation of Distributed Smart Factory Platform based on Edge Computing and OPC UA

Abstract

IoT (Internet of Things) is a core technology of hyper connected society that connects and interacts with all things, spaces and environments in the real world. Recently, IoT has evolved into edge computing technology that enhances data processing and analysis by decentralizing the computing power that was performed in the central cloud to an end device. Since edge computing is a structure suitable for a manufacturing environment requiring real-time processing of data and fast response, many studies have considered edge computing as an optimized platform technology for constructing a smart factory. Therefore, we design and implement a distributed smart factory platform for application to the factory environment based on the distributed architecture of edge computing. The proposed platform uses the data communication mechanism based on OPC UA standard to support M2M interaction between distributed edge devices. The implementation results are applied to the smart factory test bed, which is constructed through a preliminary study for applicability verification.