Collaborative Research: Educating the Workforce in Cyber & Smart Manufacturing for Industry 4.0

第四次工业革命，或工业4.0，是指信息技术和自动化应用导致的先进制造业的变化。其结果是使用大数据、先进机器人和虚拟现实等工具的“智能制造”的持续增长和发展。智能制造行业的工人需要新的技能来跟上不断变化的制造业务格局。为了满足智能制造技术人员的需求，该项目将开发综合课程和实践实验室，创建智能制造证书，并为学生制定职业地图和通往高级制造业职业的途径。教师也将接受培训，以帮助他们跟上最新的技术。该项目将帮助培养具备下一代劳动力所需技能的技术人员，并帮助满足第四次工业革命日益增长的需求。在这个项目中，德州农工大学将与西北路易斯安那技术学院合作。目标将是：1)创建一支能够融合制造信息技术和网络智能制造操作技术的劳动力队伍；2)在工业4.0的跨学科环境中培养学生；3)创建路径和职业地图，帮助学生完成学业，为未来的职业生涯做准备；4)通过专业发展促进教师持续改进的文化。这种技术人员培训方法包括网络支持、智能制造流程、监测和控制、数据科学、网络物理系统和云计算，以推动制造运营。将开发新课程，并在现有课程中引入附加模块。这些变化将使学生能够扩展他们在通信协议、集成诊断和可扩展数据分析方面的知识。他们还将使学生能够从事跨学科课程项目，从而获得智能制造证书。行业实习和本科研究经历将被纳入课程。此外，将包括教师发展研讨会和行业访问教师任命，以提高教师教授当前智能制造技术和实践的能力。项目资料、最佳实践和成果将通过项目网站、专业会议和国家组织共享。该项目由先进技术教育计划资助，该计划侧重于为推动国家经济的先进技术领域培养技术人员。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The fourth industrial revolution, or Industry 4.0, refers to the changes in the advanced manufacturing industry that result from application of information technologies and automation. The result is continuing growth and development of "smart manufacturing," which uses tools such as big data, advanced robotics, and virtual reality. Workers in smart manufacturing industries need new skills to keep up with the changing landscape of manufacturing operations. To help meet the needs of the skilled technician workforce in smart manufacturing, this project will develop integrated courses and hands-on labs, create a smart manufacturing certificate, and develop career maps and pathways for students to advanced manufacturing careers. Faculty will also receive training to help them stay current with the latest technologies. The project will help educate technicians who have the skills needed in the next-generation workforce and help fill the growing needs of this fourth industrial revolution.For this project, Texas A&M University will partner with Northwest Louisiana Technical College. The goals will be to: 1) create a workforce capable of merging the manufacturing information technologies and operation technologies of cyber-enabled smart manufacturing; 2) train students in the interdisciplinary environment of Industry 4.0; 3) create pathways and career maps to assist students in completion of their education and preparation for future careers; and 4) facilitate a continuous improvement culture for faculty through professional development. This approach to technician training includes cyber-enabled, smart manufacturing processes, monitoring and control, data science, cyber-physical systems, and cloud computing to drive manufacturing operations. New courses will be developed and add-on modules will be introduced into existing curricula. These changes will enable students to expand their knowledge of communication protocols, integrated diagnostics, and analysis of scalable data. They will also enable students to work on interdisciplinary course projects that lead to a Smart Manufacturing Certificate. Industry internships and undergraduate research experiences will be incorporated into the curriculum. In addition, faculty development workshops and visiting-faculty appointments in industry will be included to enhance the ability of faculty to teach current smart manufacturing technologies and practices. Project materials, best practices, and results will be shared through the project website, professional conferences, and national organizations. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.