Big data driven edge-cloud collaboration architecture for cloud manufacturing: A software defined perspective

In the practice of cloud manufacturing, there still exist some major challenges, including: 1) cloud based big data analytics and decision-making cannot meet the requirements of many latency-sensitive applications on shop floors; 2) existing manufacturing systems lack enough reconfigurability, openness and evolvability to deal with shop-floor disturbances and market changes; and 3) big data from shop-floors and the Internet has not been effectively utilized to guide the optimization and upgrade of manufacturing systems. This paper proposes an open evolutionary architecture of the intelligent cloud manufacturing system with collaborative edge and cloud processing. Hierarchical gateways connecting and managing shop-floor things at the 'edge' side are introduced to support latency-sensitive applications for real-time responses. Big data processed both at the gateways and in the cloud will be used to guide continuous improvement and evolution of edge-cloud systems for better performance. As software tools are becoming dominant as the 'brain' of manufacturing control and decision-making, this paper also proposes a new mode - 'AI-Mfg-Ops' (AI enabled Manufacturing Operations) with a supporting software defined framework, which can promote fast operation and upgrading of cloud manufacturing systems with smart monitoring-analysis-planning-execution in a closed loop. This research can contribute to the rapid response and efficient operation of cloud manufacturing systems.