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Testbed for Industry 4.0

Testbed for Industry 4.0 is a research and experimental environment situated in the building of Czech Institute of Informatics, Cybernetics and Robotics (CIIRC) at Czech Technical University in Prague.
Representatives from business or research sector, interested for automated and digital production, can test in production-like environment new solutions for smart factories according to the principles of Industry 4.0.
The basis of Testbed is a flexible production line for concurrent production of several product types in a series of variants. It combines different technologies like additive manufacturing, machining, robotic manipulation, intelligent conveyor systems, human-robot cooperation, automated warehousing and others.
The key aspect of the Testbed is also the existence of the "digital twin” – a digital replica of the product or the manufacture process and the entire production equipment, which is connected through a series of sensors in real time with the physical world into a cyber-physical space.
Testbed is a part of the Research and Innovation Centre on Advanced Industrial Production project (RICAIP) which has been started in September 2019. The main coordinators of the project are CIIRC and German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence. The project aims to upgrade the institution from a Centre of Excellence (CoE) at national level to a CoE of European dimensions specialised in AI and industrial robotics for technologically advanced industrial production.

Testbed is a part of the RICAIP project which is funded from the Horizon 2020 programme (Call H2020-WIDESPREAD-2018-01). The overall budget of the RICAIP project is € 14 986 215, EU contribution is the same amount € 14 986 215.

Testbed is a unique platform where innovative solutions and processes for the factory of the future are tested. It is used by many interested stakeholders from the business and research sectors. Testbed also participates on international projects. Testbed has been involved in many projects funded from the European research program Horizon 2020 or from Czech grant agencies.

Testbed is a unique concept of a test production line, which thanks to the variability of machines, robots and software tools, including a combination of augmented and virtual reality, will allow testing Industry 4.0 procedures before their introduction into real industrial production.
The SMEs can gain open access to technologies and methods that they will be able to use to build "smart" factories of the future and more easily keep pace with the development of advanced manufacturing companies.