Design and Applications of Agile Factory AaaS Architecture Based on Container-based Virtualized Automation Control Unit

With the announcement of the fourth industrial revolution in recent years, automation in the industrial field has developed into a form that fuses with Information and Communications Technologies. The factory is aiming at mass customization different from existing mass production. User requirements are becoming more diverse and new trends need to be followed quickly. These requirements must be met to reduce the overall product life cycle. Traditional automation units have existed in a direction that maintains a fixed form for mass production. However, in order to meet new requirements, we must aim for agile automation in a form that can be easily changed. To realize such agile automation, physically legacy devices must be moved to virtual space and freely editable, adjustable, and connected. In this paper, we propose Agile Factory Automation as a service Architecture (AFAA) that can provide agility and flexibility to the factory automation. In addition, we introduce Container-based virtualized Automation Control Unit (CvACU), a virtual device that exists in virtual space, to realize agile automation. The new proposal architecture and virtual devices allows for on-line dynamic configuration, while at the same time adapting quickly to various changes in the plant. In order to evaluate these proposed architectures, we estimate that production classifications will be possible more quickly with application of virtualization technology based on product model in flexible production.