A Semantic Interface Model to Support the Integration of Drones in a Cyber-Physical Factory

Industries rely on digital transformation and emergent technologies in order to reach processes efficiency and flexibility. Cyber-physical systems are currently proposed as an answer to this fourth industrial revolution. In this context, the use of drones can offer new opportunities in manufacturing shop floors. However, the adoption of such technologies requires the development of integrated interfaces to solve interoperability issues between the different components of the global production system. This paper addresses the problem of interfacing through a conceptual interface model representing the exchanged data flows between drones and a given production system. It is instantiated on a real experimental 4.0 platform combing production modules and drones. This model aims to support communication between the related logical and software components. This work is a required step in order to later address the interoperability issues.