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Project designation: INDTECH 4.0 – New Technologies for Intelligent Manufacturing
Project code: POCI-01-0247-FEDER-026653
Main objective: To strengthen research, technological development and innovation
Intervention region: Mangualde (PSA); Porto (FEUP); Maia (Critical Manufacturing); Covilhã (UBI); Braga (Neadvance) Ílhavo (Motofil Robotics); Coimbra (Active Space Technologies); Torres Vedras (RARI) * Vila Real (UTAD)
Approved on: 26-04-2018
Start date: 01-03-2018
Completion date: 30-09-2022
Total eligible cost: EUR 8,595,632.45
European Union financial support: EUR 5,323,429.11
The “INDTECH 4.0 project – New technologies for intelligent manufacturing” has as its general objective the conception and development of innovative technologies in the context of Industry 4.0 / FoF (Factories of the Future), resorting to the mobilization of multiple business partners and research centers, as well as the leadership of a vehicle assembly unit (Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)) at the Peugeot Citröen Automóveis Portugal SA plant (PSA Mangualde) as a reference field for experimentation, demonstration and technological validation.
The critical technologies to be developed, prototyped and tested and which are the main R&D objectives are focused on the following core areas:
1. Design and development of automation and robotics systems based on collaborative, flexible, adaptive and intelligent approaches (Collaborative Robotics)
2. Design and development of advanced solutions for inspection and traceability using computer vision;
3. Design and development of mechatronic systems for autonomous movement solutions based on vectors of flexibility, adaptability and modularity (Mobile Robotics – Authonomous Guided Vehicles)
4.Conception and development of cyber-physical systems based on digitization, virtualization and advanced control of the shop floor production process (cyber-physical production systems)
5. Design and development of systems for new optimization models
It is promoted by a complete consortium, formed by six business entities with robust R&D skills, who position themselves as users or producers of nuclear technologies, supported by the technical and scientific knowledge of multiple research centers territorially distributed and linked to three entities distinct from the National Research and Innovation System (SI&I).
It resulted from an idea generated internally by PSA Mangualde, in partnership with the other co-driving entities, namely AST – Active Space Technologies – Actividades Aeroespaciais, SA, CRITICAL Manufacturing SA, NEADVANCE – Machine Vision, SA, MOTOFIL ROBOTICS, SA, RARI – Construções Metálicas, Engenharia, Projects e Soluções Industriais, SA, FEUP – Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, UBI – University of Beira Interior and UTAD – University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro. As part of the Co-Promotion of R&D projects, the merit is assessed by AICEP, under the terms of DL no. 191/2014 of 31 December, which regulates the Contractual Investment Regime, following a shared / open innovation approach, all of which the technologies to be developed will result from the fusion of the knowledge of co-driving entities, business and non-business.
This is a project of special strategic interest for the Portuguese economy due to its impact on the volume of exports, on the national added value, on the value of foreign direct investment, on the index of incorporated technology, in the creation of jobs, in the increase of productivity and automation at the operational level, both in the test / demonstration phase and in the replication phase for the entire plant unit after the project.
The project constitutes a strong accelerator of the R&D activity of the consortium companies and for most of them the R&D project with the greatest technological impact and economic dimension to be carried out between 2018 and 2021. Indeed, it is estimated that by 2020, the R&D expenditure of the companies involved in the project increases from a base value of 2.8 million Euros to an approximate value of 4.8 million Euros.
Business consortium members are highly exporting companies with competitive offers globally.
PSA Mangualde, is the 9th largest exporter in the country, with sales volumes of around 400 million euros / year, while all other business consortiums correspond to medium / high technology suppliers, with a strong presence in foreign markets.
01 – In terms of the creation of new highly qualified jobs
a) The INDTECH 4.0 Project foresees, at the business level, 26 new hires of highly qualified personnel allocated to R&D activities, to occur until 2019. Simultaneously, by 2020, 83 highly qualified staff will be added to the group of business promoters, as a result of dynamics of business growth.
02 – In terms of the wide dissemination of results, it provides for:
a) Realization of master’s and / or doctoral theses and / or post-doctoral studies – The realization of master’s, doctoral and post-doctoral theses will be promoted, in a logic of cooperation between companies and SI&I entities involved in the INDTECH 4.0 project, in areas relevant scientific research in terms of R&D;
b) Publication of articles in specialized journals – Technical-scientific articles will be published in specialized journals, as a way to ensure the wide dissemination of scientific / technological know-how developed with the implementation of the INDTECH 4.0 project;
c) Participation in relevant scientific events – Participation and organization of scientific events will be promoted for the dissemination and discussion of the results achieved during the execution of the INDTECH 4.0 project (in the form of scientific papers and working papers), with a focus on the advances achieved in the domain the technologies of Industry 4.0 under development within each SP;
d) Registration of patents – Registration of patents will be carried out for the protection of industrial / intellectual property considered critical, related to the developments to be achieved with the implementation of the INDTECH 4.0 project;
e) Participation in fairs / competitions – The participation of some of the business co-drivers of the INDTECH 4.0 project will be promoted in relevant international fairs / competitions, namely, for the purpose of disseminating the results that can be valued from an economic point of view;
f) Demonstration sessions at the PSA Mangualde for demonstration of the developed prototypes.
PSA Mangualde, demonstration sessions, open to the national and foreign scientific and business community, of the technologies of the INDTECH 4.0 project (covering each of the demonstrators provided for in each SP), namely, the performance potential induced by the test pilots to develop in the project ;
g) Design and development of the project website – An electronic website of the INDTECH 4.0 project will be created to publicize its objectives, main results (e.g. generated technical and scientific publications) and public presentation / demonstration sessions.
03 – In terms of exports, in 2023, it is estimated at a global value of around 30 million euros, divided by the following consortium members:
PSA Mangualde: 21 million euros;
Motofil Robotics: 5.7 million Euros;
RARI: 1.1 million euros;
Critical Manufacturing: 800 thousand Euros;
AST: 375 thousand Euros;
NEADVANCE: 120 thousand Euros.
In terms of valuing results, this project, for Critical Manufacturing and other SP’s leaders, will result in the expected view of its activities positively affected through the expansion of its business. For PSA Mangualde, it will result in increased productivity and automation.
