Advanced Solutions for Planning and Control of Fabrications: The Communication Platform Digital Factory

The development trends in the computer graphic technology shows 3D oriented tools for simulation of industrial processes for planning, optimisation and control of factories. Planning a factory depends on various parameters such as material flow, information flow, life-cycle of services and environmental conditions. This complexity of numerous components and dynamic circumstances can be handled in an easier way by the use of the Communication Platform Digital Factory. After the planning of the factory this platform can be used for the remote control of the factory. By the use of an integrative data management and interactive 3D-simulation all processes in the life-cycle of a factory can be supported. Virtual Reality, the 3D human-computer interface accelerates significantly the processes of creating and handling 3D data in a 3D space for design and evaluation purposes. The goal of these tools is to enable interaction in an intuitive and easy way with in the design and development phase of a virtual factory. Furthermore the tools have been developed for the support of cooperative work in a virtual environment.