The coordination and support action project ConnectedFactories 2 closed in November 2022 as a success story. Building on the foundations of ConnectedFactories 1 that was initiated by EFFRA (European Factories of the Future Research Association), the project established structured knowledge sharing of innovative approaches and best practices in the digital and circular transition of manufacturing.
In addition, ConnectedFactories 2 enhanced an initial set of pathways to digitalisation of manufacturing that facilitate the transition towards innovative approaches and circularity, validating them with stakeholders all over Europe. The complete set of developed pathways is available in video format.
Throughout ConnectedFactories 2, different networking and knowledge sharing initiatives organised by EFFRA took place. Presentations and/or recordings of the sessions can be found in the ConnectedFactories 2 Final Newsletter. All deliverables, including key enablers and cross-cutting, pathways, cases, skills and knowledge transfer, outreach and dissemination, and coordination, can be found here.
In May 2022, EFFRA hosted a workshop centred on the business and legal aspects of digitalisation. This included the presentation of the Data Governance Act and Standard Essential Patent (SEP) and the Common Patent Policy of Standardisation Organisations, as well as digital industry agreements and novel business models for digital platforms and global megatrends
In June 2022, EFFRA organised a workshop on the theme of the AI for Manufacturing Pathway, presenting AI technology enablers and AI for factories 4.0 and the main research and innovation priorities. ConnectedFactories 2 sub-projects shared their insights regarding the integration of AI in SMEs, manufacturing optimisation through AI, human-centred design and human-robot collaboration, AI leveraging circular economy, data-driven production management, and optimisation agents interaction.
In October, EFFRA hosted a workshop on the topic of foresight and recommendations. This workshop inquired a selection of ongoing projects about added value, impact and value proposition, significant innovations and achievements, key exploitation results, and gaps and challenges regarding digital manufacturing.
Finally, in November, EFFRA had the pleasure of organising and hosting the final event of the Connected Factories Coordination and Support Action. More than one hundred attendees were present for this in-person knowledge sharing and networking event in Brussels, during which the discussions ranged from cutting-edge topics, such as the circular economy and artificial intelligence to cross-cutting themes, such as interoperability, standardisation and cybersecurity. Following the conclusion of the project, ConnectedFactories2 was declared a success story by the European Commission’s Project Officer and the external independent Project Reviewers.
The ConnectedFactories project has been relying on assets and mechanisms that are operated and sustained by EFFRA and has contributed to improving the processes that are required to interact efficiently with research and innovation projects. EFFRA engages with a broad portfolio of ongoing Factories of the Future Partnership projects and Made in Europe Partnership projects. EFFRA is enhancing its interaction with all projects in order to make sure that all demonstrators are included as separate resources on the EFFRA Innovation portal. This is already the case for the demonstrators that are included in the ConnectedFactories Digital Transformation catalogue, which has been embedded within the EFFRA Innovation Portal from the start. Along the progress of the projects, the demonstrators will be associated to public deliverables or public documents (whitepapers, web resources, etc...) that provide more information about these demonstrators and the technologies that are deployed and validated.
Stay tuned with EFFRA for more information.
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