Internship | Digital Interoperability in Manufacturing

About this position

In the near future, society needs to tackle a number of difficult challenges. Among others, we have to deal with climate change and an ongoing reduction in the workforce size and capabilities. In manufacturing, these challenges call for improvements in efficiency, flexibility and collaboration. Industry 4.0 (I4.0) addresses these challenges by leveraging IT solutions and connectivity to access, process and use data that is being generated in manufacturing. In addition, I4.0 aims for a tighter integration between the business and manufacturing processes. To achieve this, we are researching standards and methods to improve interoperability between and across manufacturing and business systems.

What will be your role?

This assignment is about using I4.0 technology to integrate a machine with one or more third party systems. An indication of tasks for the assignment :

• Learn about the Asset Administration Shell (AAS), Industry 4.0 and the machine used in this project.
• Investigating the use of AAS supporting tools, such as the AAS Explorer, Basyx, and others.
• Create several models to capture the machine, tooling and process information, reasoning from a perspective aligned with industrial standards.
• Define criteria to determine a successful AAS application.
• Instantiate the AAS with the models and connect them to the machines and IT systems.
• Create visualizations that present the data provided using the created models.

In order to show the usefulness of the AAS, you need to create a simulation that will replicate the machine application, consistent with several similar segments of the machine. To visualize the whole AAS application, you will create a custom dashboard with the information from the individual Submodels. The end result will be presented at one of the NEXTGEN Hitech project meetings.

You’ll become a part of our team of multi-disciplinary researchers where we share insights and collaborate on research within the Smart Industry domain.

The assignment will mainly take place at TNO, but may provide an opportunity to visiting our partner manufacturing sites for introduction, experiments and integration.

What we expect from you

You are a WO student Computer Science, Data Science or related and looking for a graduation assignment of 6-9 months. You have an interest in the challenges that come with manufacturing automation / Industry 4.0, especially with finding generic ways of modeling and connecting data. You have a research-driven mindset and like working in a multi-disciplinary environment.

What you'll get in return

You want an internship opportunity on the precursor of your career; an internship gives you an opportunity to take a good look at your prospective future employer. TNO goes a step further. It’s not just looking that interests us; you and your knowledge are essential to our innovation. That’s why we attach a great deal of value to your personal and professional development. You will, of course, be properly supervised during your work placement and be given the scope for you to get the best out of yourself. Furthermore, we provide :