October 5, 2018

NOI Techpark Südtirol / Alto Adige
On the 03rd October 2018 a visit to the NOI Techpark Südtirol / Alto Adige was done by the research group from Chiang Mai University (CMU) Korrakot Yaibuathet Tippayawong, Nakorn Tippayawong, Nilubon Chonsawat and organized by Patrick Dallasega from the Free University of Bolzano (FUB). The visit was organized in two parts, first the research institute Fraunhofer Italia and then the laboratories of the research area Energy Resources and Energy Efficiency of the FUB.

September 29, 2018

Special Issue “The Role of Engineering Education in Industry 4.0 Era”
Dr. Patrick Dallasega from the Free University of Bolzano is guest editing a special issue on the international journal “Sustainability” entitled "The Role of Engineering Education in Industry 4.0 Era". Industry 4.0 will create an increased technical and organizational complexity of industrial processes and therefore an increase in demand for qualified staff at all organizational levels. The entailing increased degree of digitization and automation requires a dramatic change for engineering education. This Special Issue represents a collection of pioneering first applications of learning factories in the era of Industry 4.0 as well as innovative ideas for future engineering education. Submissions to the Special Issue could relate, but are not limited, to the following topics:
  • Learning factories
  • Virtual learning environments
  • Engineering education in the era of Industry 4.0
  • Hands-on engineering education
  • Operator 4.0
  • Competence development
  • Active learning
Deadline for manuscript submissions is the 30.06.2019. More information about the call for paper can be found at this link: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability/special_issues/sus_engineering_edu

September 26, 2018

Special Issue on the Impact of Industry 4.0 on Operations and Supply Chain Management
Dr. Orzes (Free University of Bozen-Bolzano) is guest editing a special issue on the International Journal of Operations and Production Management (IJOPM) entitled "Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0): Technologies' Disruption on Operations and Supply Chain Management". This Special Issue intends to advance the O&PM field through expanding the understanding of Industry 4.0 technologies’ disruption on operations and supply chain management evolution and revolution. This Special Issue investigates these challenges across multiple sectors and across different industries. The Industry 4.0 technological developments for operations and supply chain management to be considered (not limited to these) may include:
  • Cyber-physical systems (‘digital twin’)
  • Internet-of-Things (IoTs)
  • Machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
  • Advanced robotics (collaborative and adaptive robots)
  • Big data analytics
  • Cloud computing (software-as-a-service, platform-as-a-service, infrastructure-as-a-service)
  • Blockchain technology
  • Additive manufacturing, hybrid manufacturing, and 3d printing
  • Smart manufacturing
  • Autonomy (e.g. autonomous vehicles) and drones
  • Augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) immersive technologies
Submitted papers should clearly demonstrate the relevance to operations management or supply chain management theory development. The deadline for submitting the papers is 31/12/2018. More information about the call for paper can be found at this link: http://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/products/journals/call_for_papers.htm?id=8055

September 21, 2018

Secondment at University of Leoben
Ass.-Prof. Dr. Poti Chaopaisarn has arrived at the University of Leoben for his secondment (1/2 in 2018) in the course of the SME 4.0 project. We are looking forward to a fruitful research cooperation in the area of Smart Logistics.

August 22, 2018

Guest lecture at Chiang Mai University 08/2018
On Wednesday, August 22nd 2018, Dr. Manuel Woschank (University of Leoben, Austria) was invited by the Department of Industrial Engineering (Chiang Mai University, Thailand) to hold a speech on the current research topics in industrial logistics management. Thereby, Dr. Woschank focused on the application of ICT & Augmented Reality technologies, on the state of the art of material identification and material tracking approaches, and on the transfer of contemporary research insights from the areas of behavioral economics and neuro-economics to the field of industrial logistics management.

July 24, 2018

SME working session at EUROMA 2018 in Budapest, Hungary
Dr. Guido Orzes from the Free University of Bolzano and Dr. Wapee Manopiniwes from Chiang Mai University participated both at the 25th International EUROMA Conference in Budapest (Hungary). After the conference, both scientists met to jointly organize the contents and tasks of the subsequent research stay of Dr. Manopiniwes at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano and to work on the work packages.

July 23, 2018

Summer School on Axiomatic Design at Free University of Bolzano
From July 17-19, 2018, a Summer School in Axiomatic Design took place in the Smart Mini Factory Laboratory at the Free University of Bolzano. The Summer School was organized by Dr. Erwin Rauch from the Free University of Bolzano and Prof. Christopher Brown from WPI (Worcester Polytechnic Institute, MA USA). Prof. Christopher Brown is a leading expert in Axiomatic Design and presented the Axiomatic Design method in a 2.5 day summer school and introduced the participants to the application of Axiomatic Design through various exercises and practical examples. Dr. Erwin Rauch showed several example of how to use Axiomatic Design also for the design of smart manufacturing systems. The Summer School was attended by Bachelor, Master, and PhD students from the Free University of Bolzano, representatives of local research institutes and industrial companies as well as Dr. Wapee Manopiniwes (visiting researcher in the SME 4.0 project) from Chiang Mai University.

July 23, 2018

Presentation of SME 4.0 at SPC IPC Drives Padova (Italy)
This year the Smart Mini Factory Lab of the Free University of Bolzano took part in the eighth edition of SPS IPC Drives, the automation fair held in Parma from 22 to 24 May 2018. An entire pavilion of the fair was dedicated to the initiative "Culture 4.0" which involved the main actors of Industry 4.0 projects: associations, universities, digital hubs, academies of automation companies and start-ups. This initiative gave us the opportunity to exhibit teaching and research projects, follow interesting presentations, have moments of discussion and establish contacts with the world of industry. Dr. Gabriele Pasetti Monizza held a speech presenting also the SME 4.0 project.