Using a semi-automated job-shop production system model to prepare students for the challenges of Industrial Cyber-Physical Systems

Though the engineering methods, tools, and standards for Industrial Cyber-Physical Systems (ICPS) have become mature and get more defined, the challenges to apply them to develop production systems towards ICPS remain difficult to grasp for experts and practitioners and even more for students. “Digitalization and Virtualization of ICPS” (DVoICPS) is a subject relevant to different student groups in informatics, electronics, mechanical engineering, and others. To teach the idea behind DVoICPS and to sensitize students to the different challenges of the cyber and of the physical world, a semi-automated job-shop production system (model) was adopted. Three types of products were manufactured with different operations. The student tasks included evolving the legacy system toward an ICPS system with improved production performance indicators. The improvements had to be feasible for the physical model, consisting of fischertechnik© elements. Students also had to describe modules of the system as ICPS components and build an executable virtual model of the evolved system, simulating it. Additionally, the students needed to plan and describe aspects for digitalizing the system itself. This paper describes the learning concept of the teaching module, the challenges of teaching students with different disciplinary backgrounds, and the students’ deliverables and learning effects. The paper concludes with summary and proposed changes to the teaching concepts for the next round of teaching.