In the context of Industry 4.0, smart factories use advanced sensing and data analytic technologies to understand and monitor the manufacturing processes. To enhance production efficiency and reliability, statistical Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies such as machine learning and data mining are used to detect and predict potential anomalies within manufacturing processes. However, due to the heterogeneous nature of industrial data, sometimes the knowledge extracted from industrial data is presented in a complex structure. This brings the semantic gap issue which stands for the lack of interoperability among different manufacturing systems. Furthermore, as the Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) are becoming more knowledge-intensive, uniform knowledge representation of physical resources and real-time reasoning capabilities for analytic tasks are needed to automate the decision-making processes for these systems. These requirements highlight the potential of using symbolic AI for predictive maintenance.
To automate and facilitate predictive analytics in Industry 4.0, in this paper, we present a novel Knowledge-based System for Predictive Maintenance in Industry 4.0 (KSPMI). KSPMI is developed based on a novel hybrid approach that leverages both statistical and symbolic AI technologies. The hybrid approach involves using statistical AI technologies such as machine learning and chronicle mining (a special type of sequential pattern mining approach) to extract machine degradation models from industrial data. On the other hand, symbolic AI technologies, especially domain ontologies and logic rules, will use the extracted chronicle patterns to query and reason on system input data with rich domain and contextual knowledge. This hybrid approach uses Semantic Web Rule Language (SWRL) rules generated from chronicle patterns together with domain ontologies to perform ontology reasoning, which enables the automatic detection of machinery anomalies and the prediction of future events’ occurrence. KSPMI is evaluated and tested on both real-world and synthetic data sets.
Distributed machine learning algorithms that employ Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) are widely used in Industry 4.0 applications, such as smart manufacturing. The layers of a DNN can be mapped onto different nodes located in the cloud, edge and shop floor for preserving privacy. The quality of the data that is fed into and processed through the DNN is of utmost importance for critical tasks, such as inspection and quality control. Distributed Data Validation Networks (DDVNs) are used to validate the quality of the data. However, they are prone to single points of failure when an attack occurs. This paper proposes QUDOS, an approach that enhances the security of a distributed DNN that is supported by DDVNs using quorums. The proposed approach allows individual nodes that are corrupted due to an attack to be detected or excluded when the DNN produces an output. Metrics such as corruption factor and success probability of an attack are considered for evaluating the security aspects of DNNs. A simulation study demonstrates that if the number of corrupted nodes is less than a given threshold for decision-making in a quorum, the QUDOS approach always prevents attacks. Furthermore, the study shows that increasing the size of the quorum has a better impact on security than increasing the number of layers. One merit of QUDOS is that it enhances the security of DNNs without requiring any modifications to the algorithm and can therefore be applied to other classes of problems.
The digital transformation of companies is expected to increase the digital interconnection between different companies to develop optimized, customized, hybrid business models. These cross-company business models require secure, reliable, and traceable logging and monitoring of contractually agreed information sharing between machine tools, operators, and service providers. This paper discusses how the major requirements for building hybrid business models can be tackled by the blockchain for building a chain of trust and smart contracts for digitized contracts. A machine maintenance use case is used to discuss the readiness of smart contracts for the automation of workflows defined in contracts. Furthermore, it is shown that the number of failures is significantly improved by using these contracts and a blockchain.