Challenges and Contributions to Intelligent and Transformative Production

Abstract

The theme of this ICPR-26 conference is “Intelligent and Transformative Production in Pandemic Times.” In this plenary, we explore the roles and challenges that production researchers have been facing before and during this pandemic, and how their contributions have enabled survival and continuity of operations, now and beyond the pandemic times. The following themes will be reviewed:

1. Survey of production research before and during the pandemic eruption.

2. Focus on supply chain and supply network resilience and security.

3. Focus on cyber collaborative production for disruption handling and control.

4. Lessons learned and agenda for the future – “beyond pandemic times?”.

We will particularly try to understand if our emerging themes of future work, labs, and factories have been on target: The cyber collaborative, augmented factories, suppliers, and services; and the human-in-the-loop cyber physical production and service. Have we been prepared to deliver on time and at scale what society and civilization need and expect? We will conclude with interesting lessons learned and suggest future research challenges.