The Better Factory emerged at the intersection of art and technology. The project came to an end with major contributions to industrial development

Different areas have merged to improve and increase the innovation and competitiveness of European manufacturing. After the four years of the project, there are important results in terms of redesigning the product portfolio, rationalising the production processes, and exploring new business models.   

The acceleration of e-commerce represented the opportunity that many entrepreneurs were waiting for to introduce their ideas into market and expand them far beyond their borders. The opportunities are immense, but proportional to a constantly developing context in which demands changes faster than industries can respond. From the unusual (yet logical) combination of efforts between different stakeholders of the European innovation context (with art and technology in the mix), the Better Factory was born – a European project hat is now coming to an end. 

Over almost four years, a consortium of 28 partners from 18 European countries carried out 16 collaborative experiments, involving 48 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), artists and technology companies. The collaboration included a mentorship action featuring 35 experiments, leading to the development of 12 digital tools, an IoT platform and several innovative artistic results. At the genesis of the project, the RAMP platform allowed the reconfiguration of factories in real time, the creation of digital twins and the development of digital services to optimise production.  

The Advanced Plant Model (APM), a 3D digital twin tool, was INESC TEC’s biggest contribution to the project. It allows the development of digital representations of shop floors, which can include workers, robots, and production lines. Through APM, it is also possible to integrate configurations with Manufacturing Execution System (MES) production schedules and create interactive factory designs that are accessible from any internet-connected device.  

Among the potentials of the tool are accessibility and ease of use – addressing the complexity often associated with the use of digital twins. The use of APM in several initiatives promoted by the project confirms the feasibility and success of its application in different manufacturing contexts.  

The Better Factory project was financed under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No. 951813).