John Angelopoulos

• University of Patras

The increasing consumer demand for personalized and customized goods and services in the manufacturing sector presents significant challenges. Limited research has been conducted on integrating the mass personalization paradigm into the Industry 4.0 framework. However, there is potential to enhance collaboration between the Internet of Things (IoT)...

The current industrial landscape is characterized by the immense effort towards the digitalization of systems, networks and processes. Under the light of Industry 4.0, digital technologies such as Digital Twins (DT), eXtended Reality (XR), and Additive Manufacturing (e.g. Fused Deposition Modeling – FDM) are considered among other key pillars for c...

With the shift towards the human centric, sustainable, and resilient Industry 5.0, the need for training operators in complex industrial systems has become increasingly crucial. This paper explores the significance of collaborative extended reality (XR)-based engineering education in the preparation of the next generation of operators, denoted as O...

In recent years, the traditional manufacturing industry has been affected by the advent of Industry 4.0. Robotic systems have become a standard tool in modern manufacturing, due to their unique characteristics, such as repeatability, precision, speed, and high payload. However, robotics manipulators suffer from low reliability. Low reliability incr...

During the last decades numerous innovations and inventions have been presented under the framework of Industry 4.0. The ultimate goal of the latest industrial revolution is the digitalization of modern manufacturing systems. Therefore, several techniques and technologies have been investigated by the academia and the industrial practitioners, such...

Climate change, improved energy efficiency, and access to contemporary energy services are among the key topics investigated globally. The effect of these transitions has been amplified by increased digitization and digitalization, as well as the establishment of reliable information and communication infrastructures, resulting in the creation of s...

The evolution of the power grid towards a Smart Grid is a crucial aspect of the transformation of society towards the so-called Society 5.0, where human-centered technology is the key to address social challenges. This paper proposes a personalized service approach for Smart Grids within the Society 5.0 framework, which aims to provide a personaliz...

The blending of human and mechanical capabilities has become a reality in the realm of Industry 4.0. Enterprises are encouraged to design frameworks capable of harnessing the power of human and technological resources to enhance the era of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Over the past decade, AI technologies have transformed the competitive landscape...

Robotic systems have become a standard tool in modern manufacturing due to their unique characteristics, such as repeatability, precision, and speed, among others. One of the main challenges of robotic manipulators is the low degree of reliability. Low reliability increases the probability of disruption in manufacturing processes, minimizing in thi...

One of the core engineering activities during the design and development of new products, components, and structures is the structural simulation in order to validate the design and ensure that the parts will efficiently withstand the loading cycles. On the other hand, simulation is one of the nine pillar technologies for Industry 4.0. Under the cu...

Modern manufacturing systems rely on the utilization of Computer Numerical Control (CNC) for the manufacturing of products and components. By extension, engineers must be capable of programming machine tools (through G-code) in order to achieve the desired results. However, this process is time consuming and requires highly skilled and trained pers...

Blockchain can be realized as a distributed and decentralized database, also known as a “distributed ledger,” that is shared among the nodes of a computer network. Blockchain is a form of democratized and distributed database for storing information electronically in a digital format. Under the framework of Industry 4.0, the digitization and digita...

Hybrid classrooms have become more and more common during the pandemic. Digital technologies have accelerated the transition into the university of the future. Digital Twins technology, one of the trending technologies related to Industry 4.0, helps faculty to create simulation models based on course requirements. Universities are still facing the...

The term “Metaverse” first used in Neal Stephenson's sci-fi book Snow Crash in 1992, refers to a fusion of virtual and real existence. Nearly 30 years later, that definition is taking shape and promises to alter how people live and operate. This next evolution of Internet also known as Web3.0 will combine digital and physical elements. Multiple def...

A significant shift from traditional lines to reconfigurable and reprogrammable robotic cells has occurred in Industry 4.0. Collaborative robots can be used for automating several tasks for improving Human-Machine Interface (HMI). The ability of a robot carrying out different tasks is proportional to the tools that it can use, thus it is crucial th...

Drones have proven to be valuable tools in a variety of industries in recent years under the Industry 4.0 framework. Construction, real estate, agriculture, oil and gas, education, and many other industries are reporting fewer accidents, lower costs, and increased efficiency by integrating Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to their operations. Furthe...

Manufacturing has been hugely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with many critical global value chains either halted or seriously interrupted. Most interactions with customers and employees have to take place in a contactless or virtual way. As such, digital operation is the way to remain in business through mandatory shutdowns and restricted acti...

By virtue of the increased automation, digitization, and digitalization of manufacturing and production systems a constantly growing amount of data, also known as Big Data Sets, are produced. Thus, techniques, in particular Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), to utilize and organize Big Data Sets for the benefit of contemporary...

In the era of Industry 4.0, manufacturing and production systems were revolutionized by increasing operational efficiency and developing and implementing new business models, services, and products. Concretely, the milestone set for Industry 4.0 was to improve the sustainability and efficiency of production systems. By extension, the emphasis was f...

Modern manufacturing and production companies have transformed their business models in order to integrate Product-Service Systems (PSS). These changes in the modus operandi of companies facilitates the close collaboration of manufacturers and customer in the development of new product. Furthermore, the recent research works in the field of simulat...

Manufacturing systems have undergone many changes with regard to their structure, organization, and operation. This chapter charts the technical developments in manufacturing systems over the last 70 years. The basic building blocks of Computer-Aided Manufacturing and their evolution to Computer-Integrated Manufacturing systems are discussed. We de...

In the realm of the fourth industrial revolution, the flawless and continuous operation of the technology-rich workplaces is a challenging problem. The assessment of technician skills could facilitate initially the personnel classification, and in continuation the adaptation of guidance instructions as well as the job allocation to their unique att...

Under the framework of Industry 4.0, machines and machine tools have evolved to smart and connected things, comprising the Internet of Things (IoT) and leading to the Mass Per-sonalization (MP) paradigm, which enables the production of uniquely made products at scale. MP, fueled by individualization trends and enabled by increasing digitalization,...

Robotic manipulators have become part of manufacturing systems in recent decades. However, in the realm of Industry 4.0, a new type of manufacturing cell has been introduced—the so-called collaborative manufacturing cell. In such collaborative environments, communication between a human operator and robotic manipulators must be flawless, so that sm...

In today's business environment, the trend towards more product variety and customization is unbroken. Due to this development, the need of agile and reconfigurable production systems emerged to cope with various products and product families. To design and optimize production systems as well as to choose the optimal product matches, product analys...

The industrial landscape is undergoing a series of fundamental changes, because of the advances in cutting-edge digital technologies. Under the framework of Industry 4.0 engineers have focused their effort on the development of new frameworks integrating digital technologies such as Big Data Analytics, Digital Twins, Extended Reality, and Artificia...

Over the past decades, automation industry has seen a major shift from traditional, hard-tooled lines to reconfigurable and reprogrammable robotic cells. Robots have added increasing value to the industry with special focus on robotic arms which enable many repetitive tasks to be carried out with high repeatability, reliability, flexibility, and sp...

During the last decades numerous innovations and inventions have been presented under the framework of Industry 4.0. The ultimate goal of the latest industrial revolution is the digitalization of modern manufacturing systems. Therefore, several techniques and technologies have been investigated by the academia and the industrial practitioners, such...

Simulation, as a pillar technology of Industry 4.0, is a key tool for improving manufacturing processes. Simulation is an indispensable set of technological tools and methods for the successful implementation of digital manufacturing, since it allows for the experimentation and validation of product, process, and system design and configuration. Th...

According to the recent enactments of the European authorities, the reduction of CO2 emissions is one of the main targets, in order to achieve climate neutrality. However, under the Industry 4.0 framework, several digital technologies and techniques have been introduced. More specifically, advanced simulation techniques, such as Digital Twins are b...

Aim: This work explores the opportunities and challenges associated with the integration of Product Service Systems (PSS) into Smart Grids (SGs) with the aim of improving manufacturing and production systems’ sustainability under the Society 5.0 framework. Methods: A bibliometric analysis was conducted to examine the existing bibliographic material...

For many applications deployed in manufacturing networks, communication latency has been a significant barrier. Despite the constant development of improved communication protocols and standards during Industry 4.0, the latency problem persists, lowering quality of services (QoS) and quality of experience (QoE). Tactile internet (TI), with its high...

The paradigm shift from mass production to on-demand, personalized, customer-driven, and knowledge-based production reshapes manufacturing. Smart manufacturing leads to an automated world that relies more on information and communication technologies (ICTs) and sophisticated information-technology-intensive processes, enhancing flexibility. Further...

The industrial Internet of things (IIoT) key technologies advance flexibility, personalization, and cost savings in industrial processes. Smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0 integrate the physical and decision-making aspects of manufacturing processes into autonomous and decentralized systems. Cloud manufacturing is emerging with scheduling issues...

New technologies such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) are constantly being introduced under the Industry 4.0 framework. Although UAVs are mainly used in civil and military applications, the opportunities for Industrial integration must be examined, namely real-time remote monitoring, wireless coverage, and remote sensing. Therefore, UAVs can be c...

As the industrial requirements change rapidly due to the drastic evolution of technology, the necessity of quickly investigating potential system alternatives towards a more efficient manufacturing system design arises more intensely than ever. Production system simulation has proven to be a powerful tool for designing and evaluating a manufacturin...

The evolution of production systems encloses continuous adaptation of workplaces with changing levels of technologies and automation. This research paper examines scenarios of multi-skilled operators, cooperating to accomplish a common goal. The under-consideration environment consists of a distributed network of workstations, each one assigned wit...

The shift of profit margins from products to services, has transformed traditional production equipment supplier industries to providers of Industrial Product-Service Systems (IPSS). IPSS is a new business model for consistent delivery of industrial products such as production equipment and manufacturing services (Manufacturing as a Service). Howev...

A digitalized Smart Factory can be considered as a data island. Moreover, engineers have focused on the development of new technologies and techniques not only for transforming information to data but also to achieve efficient data utilization to further optimize manufacturing processes. However, the Zero-Defect Manufacturing concept has emerged, w...

Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) can be considered as the cornerstones of the lifecycle of a manufacturing asset. Since the above-mentioned processes often involve multiple engineers, from different departments even from different companies, it is crucial to ensure the flawless communication between the different i...

The research work presented in this paper is related to the design and development of a framework based on the Blockchain technology for the upscaling of modern academic education. The goal is to securely and successfully connect the multiple stakeholders involved in the academic education, including students, universities, research organizations a...

Communication latency has been a significant barrier for many applications deployed in various network domains over the last few years. Until now, Internet of Things (IoT) enabled the interconnection of low-power, sensors of limited transition and latency-tolerant smart devices. However, despite the development of communication protocols and standa...

Refrigerator and Cold Storage Systems (RCSS), also known as cold chain are utilized in a wide variety of applications for the storage of sensitive goods. Consequently, there is a common need for optimal and continuous operation of the refrigerator group, including the freezing chamber and the compressor group. Therefore, under the framework of Indu...

In the realm of the fourth Industrial Revolution, digital technologies are constantly integrated in Manufacturing processes in order to improve system reliability, monitor processes accurately and ultimately optimize processes. In order to tackle these issues, advanced simulation techniques such as Digital Twins (DT) have to be developed. Further t...

The energy market is extended to an open and cross-border level and has increased the competition among the energy supply companies. The energy suppliers focus on the provision of smarter solutions by using the Industry 4.0 digital technologies to industrial customers. These services are linked to energy consumption and could affect the operational...

The lockdown due to SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic forced both educators and students to swift and rely on digital technologies in order to ensure the successful completion of modules based on the official curriculum. Universities are still facing the challenging issue to offer high quality learning opportunities without risking participants’ healt...

Human-Cyber-Physical Systems are the key to the successful operation of manufacturing systems. Consequently, the need for adequate assessment of human operators and tracking of their skills and competencies evolution emerges. Additionally, the advances in digital technologies encourage the development of supportive and adaptive frameworks for the o...

Human cancer is a multifaceted decease. Throughout the years several techniques and technologies have been proposed for the diagnosis and treatment of such deceases. However, the technological advances in the field of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), Augmented Reality (AR), and Artificial Intelligence (AI), can facilitate during th...

By virtue of the Digitalization of Manufacturing Systems, the importance of interconnecting multiple digital systems is becoming a necessity. By extension, the need for connecting the shop-floor technician to the rest of the production system is highlighted more than ever. Internet and Communication technologies (ICT) may connect the technician wit...

The currently applied maintenance strategies, including Reactive and Preventive maintenance can be considered obsolete. The constant improvements in Information and Communication Technologies as well as in Digital Technologies along with the increase of computational power, have facilitated the development of new Artificial Intelligence algorithms...

The digitalization of industry is targeting at the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in manufacturing systems, for delivering intelligent machinery. Although AI seems a long-term target, similar enabling technologies such as artificial neural networks (ANNs) have been introduced. Despite that ANNs are inspired by the human brain's functio...

In modern manufacturing world, MRO (Maintenance and Repair Operations) are the cornerstone for keeping industrial equipment in near-optimum condition. Successful completion of MRO has been benefited from Augmented Reality (AR), by considerably decreasing MTTR (Mean Time to Repair). To that end, AR delivers the digital tools that help on-the-field t...

The Fourth Industrial Revolution has made efficient and adaptive manufacturing a prominent research topic. The necessity for personalized products leads to complex production lines. Due to the increased complexity, planning and scheduling of manufacturing processes seeks to identify near-optimum solutions to ensure fast and precise decision making....

Moving towards factories of the future, Human-Robot Interfaces (HRIs) have come to the foreground. HRIs, offer extended potential in terms of flexibility, time and cost reduction, ergonomics, and the overall company’s sustainability. What is needed, is the provision of digital tools that will accelerate HRI integration to the existing manufacturing...

Decision making at the shop floor level has become more complex than ever be-fore due to the massive growth in available data. The increasing market demands, concerning product quality and delivery times, make critical judgement and decision-making crucial requirements of the modern manufacturing problems. Human decision making has become insuffici...

The last five years, the research community has focused their work around Industry 4.0 topics. The Fourth Industrial Revolution has transformed the design, manufacture, operation, the service of products and systems and many and various aspects of everyday life. Therefore, the introduction of the term Society 4.0 is necessary. This survey analyses...

In the realm of the current industrial revolution, interesting innovations as well as new techniques are constantly being introduced by offering fertile ground for further investigation and improvement in the industrial engineering domain. More specifically, cutting-edge digital technologies in the field of Extended Reality (XR) have become mainstr...

The main characteristic of the Industry 4.0 era is the increased digitalization and complexity of manufacturing systems. However, for the successful shift to digitalization, the need for a new generation of engineers, the Generation 4.0 Engineers, emerges. Hence, academia must provide the Generation 4.0 engineers with enhanced skills, competencies...

In the modern market scheme, Market 4.0, there is an evident need for improved quality, increased quantities and lower delivery times of products. However, customers seek for highly personalized products. Consequently, production engineers must include customers in the product design phase so as to meet their unique requirements. On the contrary, d...

In the competitive era of industrial automation, enterprises are struggling to maintain their competitiveness, through modernization of their manufacturing systems, while trying to meet market demands. Modernization of manufacturing systems refers to the replacement of manufacturing equipment with state-of-the-art machinery. A good alternative is t...

Integrating the Internet of Things in Industry 4.0 demands the combination of existing practises with new technologies. Augmented Reality (AR) is a cutting-edge technology of the new manufacturing era. The fourth industrial revolution challenges and AR technology advances, promise to improve productiveness, working quality, user experience and allo...

The ACE Factories White Paper on 'Human-centred factories from theory to industrial practice. Lessons learned and recommendations' http://ace-factories.eu/wp-content/uploads/ACE-Factories-White-Paper.pdf

Following nowadays shift to Servitization and Digitalization, which is aligned with technological advances in mobile technologies and mixed reality, this paper introduces an assistance application for the preventive and unscheduled maintenance of manufacturing equipment, following a Product-Service System (PSS) approach. Maintenance is a demanding...