Review of standardization opportunities in smart industrial components

Smart Components in manufacturing are defined as components which incorporate functions of self-description, communication, sensing and control in order to cooperate with other smart components, analyse a situation, make decisions based on the available data and modify their behaviour through feedback. These smart components are made up with a variety of parts with various roles: sensors for signal acquisition, elements transmitting the information, control units that take decisions and give instructions based on the available information, components transmitting decisions and instructions, and actuators that perform or trigger the required actions. The absence of standards in certain areas and the lack of critical mass to effectively drive such standards is currently one of the identified barriers to widespread adoption of smart components by industry. There is also a need to clearly define the new business models and regulatory frameworks in which these smart components will operate. This paper presents a review of needs and opportunities for standardisation for smart components identified within the scope of the Co-FACTOR project.