Cooperative Robotics and Machine Learning for Smart Manufacturing: Platform Design and Trends Within the Context of Industrial Internet of Things

Internet of Things (IoT) in industrial settings now leads to the development of a new generation of systems designed to improve the operational efficiency of the new paradigm of smart manufacturing plants. Thereby, the current article introduces in detail the definitions, concepts, standards, and other important aspects related to smart manufacturing, cooperative robotics, and machine learning techniques. The paper highlights the opportunities presented by the new paradigm and the challenges faced in effectively implementing it in the industrial context. Especially, the focus is on the challenges associated with the architectures, communications technology, and protocols that enable the integration and deployment of machine learning algorithms to improve the execution of cooperative tasks performed daily by human operators, machines, and robots. The article also provides a systematic review of state-of-the-art research efforts for the fields aforementioned. Finally, an architecture for integrating collaborative robotics and machine learning based on six layers and four hierarchies of the RAMI 4.0 (Reference Architectural Model Industry 4.0) is presented.