Special Session 1: Collaborative Networks as Driver of Innovation in Organizations 5.0

CoDEMO EU project is dedicated to developing at the European level, innovation capabilities for 5.0 organizations in multiple activity sectors, namely industry, healthcare and agri-technology. Capabilities for innovation and transformation towards 5.0 organizations are deeply based on the capacity of collaboration among various socio-economic actors, including companies, innovation centres, vocational training providers, universities and others.

The concept of 5.0 organization complements 4.0 logics and principles by focussing more on developing a sustainable, human-centric, and resilient (business) environment considered as more appropriate in a non-linear world. The advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) have the potential to strategically improve and optimize global supply chains (SC). With the help of networked technologies and smart digital ecosystems, 5.0 organizations aim to provide more sustainable means of value creation, better (business) results and advancements in SC resiliency.

The objective of this special session, is to make the link between the innovation and competence requirements for the transition towards 5.0 organizations and the needs, opportunities and practices of collaborative networks consisting of various types of socio-economic actors.

The Special Session will welcome theoretical, empirical as well as pragmatic contributions on topics like: collaborative network modalities to support 5.0 innovation & transition, 5.0 competence needs supported by collaborative innovation activities, collaboration needs/requirements for 5.0 organisations in specific sectors like industry, healthcare or agri-technology, experimentation of collaborative networks supporting 5.0 transition, assessment of collaborative capabilities for 5.0 organizations, 5.0 laboratories for education, learning, professional training or transfer. All other contributions that relate to the main field of 5.0 organization are also very much appreciated.

Topics:

• Collaborative networks for 5.0 transition towards human-centricity, sustainability and resilience of organizations 5.0
• Collaboration needs, opportunities and practice for innovation of 5.0 organizations
• Collaboration to support 5.0 skills and competence developments
• Collaborative strategies and management of 5.0 organizations
• Innovation 5.0 development in collaborative networks
• Collaborative innovation in specific sectors like industry, health or agri-food and others
• Collaborative decision-making processes in industry, health or agri-food supply chains
• Hybrid human-machine collaboration to optimize industry, healthcare or agri-food processes
• Collaborative healthcare networks with hospitals, labs, and medical institutions
• Collaborative networks in education fostering the transition from 4.0 to 5.0

CoDEMO Eu Project, Erasmus+ Call 2022: Alliances for Innovation - https://codemo-project.eu

Organizers:

• Prof. Arkadiusz Jurczuk, Bialystok University of Technology
• Prof. Thomas Süße, Bielefeld University of Applied Science
• Prof. Adrian Florea, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu
• Prof. Fabiana Pirola, University of Bergamo

Special Session 2: Fostering Collaborative and Interoperable Digital Models for Digital Twins

Digitization received significant attention by new European Commission strategies. To improve digitalization’s maturity, it is important to develop technology-driven frameworks such as digital twins (DT). The proposed special session aims at inviting approaches for developing FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) digital models for digital twins with a collaborative capability, which hold immense potential for various industries from manufacturing to healthcare. The development of mature collaborative DTs highly relies on high fidelity digital models that will be included within the virtual entity (VE) dimension of DTs, which includes different types of digital models, such as behavioural, geometric, rules, physic, geospatial, and assets. In this session, we are looking for contributions and guidelines on deduction/extraction of digital models facilitating knowledge exchange that enables these models to be interoperable among themselves and integrate different information and elements to offer collaborative capabilities for digital twins. Such interoperable models, endorse collaboration among different DTs at different aggregation levels (i.e., Unit level DT, System level DT, System of Systems level DT).

This special session will be endorsed by the Digital Twin Technical Committee of the SAGIP (https://www.sagip.org/fr).

Topics:

• Model-Based System Engineering for collaborative DTs
• Collaborative digital twin’s architecture
• Collaborative digital twin’s services
• FAIR models for Simulation
• FAIR models for Optimization
• FAIR models for Decision-making
• Knowledge Engineering & Management
• Model Interoperability and collaboration features

Organizers:

• Aurélie CONGÈS, Post-doctoral researcher at the industrial engineering laboratory of IMT Mines Albi
• Sina NAMAKI ARAGHI, Assistant Professor at the production engineering laboratory of Tarbes University of Technology (UTTOP)
• Mamadou Kaba TRAORE, Professor at University of Bordeaux, Head of the digital twin technical committee at SAGIP

Special Session 3: Empowering Vulnerable Populations Wellbeing through Collaborative Networks

Vulnerable populations as migrants, refugees, ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, vulnerable women, low-income, homeless, LGBTQ+ communities, etc., are often affected by different types of discrimination that beyond doubt affect their wellbeing. One way of mitigating this problem is to perform a comprehensive exploration of key themes aimed at enhancing the wellbeing of vulnerable populations through the lens of collaborative networks.

In this regard, this special session addresses concerns on how the stakeholders' engagement within these networks can be performed, with a focus on understanding how their involvement contributes to the empowerment of vulnerable individuals. At this level, it is also relevant to properly understand and evaluate emerging technologies and strategic approaches dedicated to ensuring confidentiality and trust within collaborative networks, acknowledging their pivotal role in fostering a secure environment for vulnerable populations. Furthermore, contributions to this session may include research on mechanisms to facilitate agile access to data and fostering knowledge creation for vulnerable individuals, exploring cutting-edge recommendation systems, continuous supervision, and monitoring methodologies, aiming to elevate the outcomes of networks designed to support vulnerable populations. A particular emphasis can be placed on the integration of generative-AI solutions, assessing their efficiency in providing tailored services that address the unique needs and challenges faced by vulnerable individuals.

In addition, in this session it is also welcomed research on user-tailored interfaces and adaptable digital solutions, aiming to create accessible and user-friendly platforms specifically designed to cater to the diverse requirements of vulnerable populations. Moreover, the role of social media in the empowerment of vulnerable populations should be analyzed, considering its impact on communication, awareness, and community support. Overall, this special session expects to include contributions for a comprehensive examination of collaborative networks and associated technologies, providing insights into their potential to positively impact the wellbeing of vulnerable populations.

Topics:

• Stakeholders’ engagement in collaborative ecosystems to empower vulnerable populations wellbeing
• Emerging technologies and strategies for confidentiality and trust within collaborative networks
• Mechanisms for agile access to vulnerable people data and for knowledge creation
• Recommendation systems, continuous supervision, and monitoring to improve the outcomes of ecosystems of vulnerable people
• Generative-AI solutions for the provision of tailored services for vulnerable people in collaborative contexts
• User tailored interfaces and adaptable digital solutions to facilitate the access of vulnerable individuals to the collaborative ecosystem
• The role of social media in empowering collaborative ecosystems of vulnerable populations

Organizers:

• Ana Inês Oliveira, NOVA SST, CTS-UNINOVA
• Filipa Ferrada, NOVA SST, CTS-UNINOVA
• Patricia Macedo, Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal, CTS-UNINOVA

Special Session 4: Trust and trustworthy technologies in collaborative networks

Collaborative networks of enterprises are currently challenged by high unpredictabilities. The global environment has further developed from a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) into a brittle, anxious, nonlinear and incomprehensible (BANI) world. Given these conditions, timely and credible information sharing among collaborative network partners is but one of the vital sources of an efficient network. Research shows, that (re)establishing and pertaining trust in a collaborative network as a specific organizational form in general and between network partners and further stakeholders in a more specific perspective make up a key network management challenge. However, as the collaboration in larger networks becomes increasingly virtual and anonymous, especially if the distance of tiers in a supply network is high, trust can no longer be built solely upon personal relationships. Rather, it is the intelligent interplay of organizational, human and technological (digital) relationship enablers that substantially contributes to trust in collaborative networks in a BANI world. One particular innovative technology which addresses network trust is the distributed (digital) ledger technology (DLT) (i.e. "blockchain"). This session aims to strengthen the scientific discourse on the challenges of implementing and managing this trustworthy technology in collaborative virtual networks of enterprises. With respect to DLT enabled collaborative networks (in contrast to rather linear chains) we invite scholars to address, among other, topics as: dimensions and qualities of trust; psychological, technological and/or organizational representations of trust; reciprocity of human and DLT trustworthiness; trust related managerial procedures, indicators and measures of successful DLT implementation; or even newly arising blind spots in understanding and managing trust and trustworthiness in DLT enabled collaborative networks.

Topics:

• Trust in collaboration
• Trust in virtual networks of enterprises
• Reciprocity and interplay of trust enablers
• Distributed ledger technology/ blockchain
• Management of digital technologies in networks

Organizers:

• Bernd-Friedrich Voigt, South Westphalian University of Applied Sciences
• Stefan Lier, South Westphalian University of Applied Sciences
• Thomas Schlösser, South Westphalian University of Applied Sciences

Special Session 5: Collaborative Manufacturing Systems in the Digital Era

The manufacturing industry continuously faces critical challenges such as supply chain disruptions, political instability, increasing competition, mass customization, and skill shortage. As a result, companies are implementing a more adaptive approach, leveraging globally dispersed, scalable, and sustainable production systems and resources. Also, these challenges force the industry to be more efficient, agile, and robust than ever. Collaboration between various stakeholders such as machine builders, product designers, manufacturers, and end-customers is one of the opportunities to overcome these challenges. Collaborative manufacturing effort involves sharing resources, knowledge, expertise, and risks as well as the business gain while meeting the requirements of all stakeholders involved. This paradigm embodies a novel strategy to foster greater efficiency and resilience in the manufacturing industry. Successful digital collaborative manufacturing platforms, such as GAIA-X, allow manufacturers to share their production capacity and facilitate consumers to access up-to-date resource availabilities transparently and affordably. Although there are efforts to establish an industry-standard digital infrastructure for collaborative manufacturing systems, there are research questions in this landscape such as making these systems more human-centric by exploiting Industry 5.0 technologies, allowing collaborators to jointly design the products and value chain, utilizing generative AI and machine learning technologies to advance the current cyber-physical systems to be more cognitive, developing smart methods for efficient, fair and inclusive resource sharing. Hence, this special session aims to bring together practitioners and researchers in collaborative manufacturing systems and facilitate knowledge exchange for best practices and state-of-the-art research to answer these questions. Studies that discuss industry maturity levels for collaborative manufacturing adaptation, social, economic, and business barriers along with proposed resolutions are also invited to submit a paper to the special session.

Topics:

• Sustainable and resilient collaborative manufacturing systems
• Multi-agent Methods for planning and scheduling collaborative manufacturing systems
• Collaborative Cyber-Physical Systems
• Collaborative Platforms

Organizers:

• Ege Duran, UCC, School of Computer Science and Information Technology, Cork, Ireland
• Cemalettin Ozturk, MTU, Process, Energy and Transport Engineering, Cork, Ireland
• Barry O’Sullivan, UCC, School of Computer Science and Information Technology, Cork, Ireland

Special Session 6: Zero Defects and Zero Waste strategies in Industrial Collaborative Networks

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data driven solutions towards Zero Defects and Zero Waste (ZDZW) solutions apply digital technologies to eliminate product and process errors and resource waste. Developing these solutions requires the involvement of multiple stakeholders (e.g., AI engineers, data scientist, system integrators) in complex collaborative networks. Technologies like blockchain, data spaces, or Machine Learning Operations (MLOps) emerge as enablers to achieve effective collaborations in the digital domain.

This special session focuses on discussing and disseminating real cases under development in different research initiatives. The session will address specific challenges related to the integration (collaboration, robotics, data space, standardisation, interoperability, untrustworthy environments, etc.) of new sensors and the application of artificial intelligence for the detection, identification, and quantification of production defects or resource waste on a real-time basis.

Some of the use cases covered include a) blockchain based architectures for Inspection as a Service (IaaS) enabling the data sharing between participants to be performed in a decentralised, transparent, and secure cloud manufacturing system, building trust between them, b) cloud native robotics to enable safe, dynamic, and real-time decision-making for a collaborative working environment between humans and robots and c) Use of Data Spaces for zero waste solutions in the time critical bio-production section.

Topics:

• Zero Defects strategies for collaborative manufacturing
• Smart manufacturing using collaborative networks
• Non-destructive inspection technologies for collaborative systems
• Blockchain technology for Inspection as a Service in untrustworthy collaborative environments
• Sustainable growth in collaborative manufacturing based in non-destructive inspection technologies
• Collaborative Non-Destructive Inspection systems for monitoring and control
• Collaborative Non-Destructive Inspection Interoperability
• Human-robot collaboration
• Social Sustainability Human-Robot Collaboration
• Collaboration in Manufacturing Data Value Chains

Organizers:

• Francisco Fraile - Centre on Production and Engineering and Management of the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain
• Lario Femenia Joan - Centre on Production and Engineering and Management of the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain

Special Session 7: Collaborative Ecosystems: Skills and Technologies for Resilient Futures

This session seeks to unravel the dynamic nexus between human skill enhancement and the integration of emerging technologies within collaborative ecosystems. Our goal is to forge a comprehensive understanding of the interdependencies that propel innovation and societal advancement. Participants will engage in a critical examination of the synergistic relationship between evolving human capabilities and technological progression, underscoring the importance of collaborative networks in catalyzing sustainable change. The session will draw from a range of disciplines to uncover strategies that leverage collective intelligence and foster multi-disciplinary partnerships, essential for navigating the accelerated pace of digital transformation. Emphasis will be placed on the translation of theoretical models into actionable strategies, cultivating an environment where varied perspectives coalesce to forge pathways towards a resilient and adaptable future.

Topics:

• Skill-tech Advancement in Collaborative Networks
• Collaborative Ecosystems for Skill-Tech Synergy
• Navigating Augmentation vs. Automation: Collaborative Technologies in Skill Enhancement
• Ethical Implications in the Skill-Technology Collaborative Paradigm
• Collaborative Strategies Development for Skill Enhancement through Emerging Technologies
• Inclusive Collaboration in Skill and Technology Ecosystems
• Collaborative Forecast on the Future of Work and Skill Evolution
• Socio-Political Dynamics through Technological Disruption
• Ethical Technology Deployment
• Building Collaborative Resilience and Sustainability in Networks
• Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Organizers:

• Professor Thomas Schuster, Pforzheim University
• Doctor Eda Marchetti, CNR-ISTI
• Professor Jose Barata, NOVA School of Science and Technology
• Doctor Sanaz Nikghadam-Hojjati, UNINOVA