Small manufacturers can now digitise their factory floors using off-the-shelf consumer gadgets like smartphones, voice assistants, and low-cost sensors, rather than expensive industrial systems. This matters because most digital manufacturing tools are designed for large corporations with big budgets. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)—which make up the vast majority of UK manufacturers—cannot afford the capital costs of upgrading to industrial computing and communication networks. The project tackles this gap head-on by testing whether cheap, non-industrial technologies can safely and securely handle tasks like product tracking, flexible production control, and real-time data analysis. If successful, the approach could transform how thousands of small factories operate. Instead of being locked out of the productivity gains that digitalisation offers, SMEs could adopt simple, low-cost systems that improve efficiency, reduce waste, and help them compete with larger rivals. The research also involves student hackathons and direct engagement with local tech communities to develop and test software, ensuring the solutions are practical and affordable from the start. The result would be a manufacturing sector where even the smallest players can benefit from modern computing, sensing, and AI—without needing a corporate IT budget.
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The digitalisation of manufacturing is a key enabler in the UK Government drive to raise the level of industrial productivity to match and exceed leading competitors. Whilst basic digital technology applications in manufacturing are not new, there are two key trends that predicate the timeliness of the proposed research: (1) manufacturing organisations are increasingly seeing information as a key strategic addition to their product offerings; (2) major innovations in computer science, control and informatics have created new opportunities for major breakthroughs in manufacturing. One of the critical challenges is how to support the digital manufacturing transformation of SMEs and introduce new methods of production that take into account the latest control, communication and AI technologies in a sector characterised by limited capital investment and research potential. Whilst there is significant body of knowledge in this area it is mostly focused on relatively expensive solutions which are often unaffordable to SMEs? This project will therefore address a common concern that recent developments in digital manufacturing are unlikely to accessible by SMEs owing to the associated capital cost of upgrading industrial computing and communication environments. The project proposes a radically different approach to the digital evolution of a manufacturing operation by focussing predominantly on non industrial solutions to industrial automation and information challenges. It will seek to exploit very low cost commercially available technologies for mobile computing, sensing, AI and tackle the challenges associated with integrating these safely and securely into a small scale manufacturing environment. As well as conventional research activities, the project will more radically involve student hackathons as a means of stimulating low cost software development, will use an in-house technology transfer organisation to access SME organisations, and engage directly with the High Value Manufacturing catapult demonstration network as a means of reaching the maximum number of potential users. Stretch targets for the programme include the introduction of low cost product tracking, exploiting emerging industrial IoT platforms and AI-based flexible control using commercially available AI and voice recognition development environments. The project will supplement the traditional research and development approaches with some innovative implementation development activities in which (i) undergraduate and graduate students in both engineering and computer science and integrated via a series of hackathons and software and hardware development competitions (ii) a series of workshops will be targeted at local start up and SME IT communities to engage them directly in the development of applications and products (iii) by working directly with technology transfer organisations to ensure that not only the final message but also the starting rationale for the work fully engages the SME manufacturing community.
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