In the first two years of the project, we achieved new results in the field of production data stream analytics, decision support based on pairwise comparisons, and of general machine learning methods with reliability guarantees. Several theoretical results were developed for modeling and efficiently solving scheduling tasks highly relevant in production systems, such as material and energy flows and internal logistics. We paid special attention to the coordinated control of autonomous air and ground mobile devices performing internal logistics tasks. There have been developed competitive solutions for dynamic pickup-and-delivery type problems as well as integrated scheduling and delivery tasks.
We explored and described the analogies between production and biological systems and analyzed the trends of the converging fields of engineering, IT and biological sciences. The role of artificial intelligence utilization in production systems was surveyed, along with their industrial application possibilities and main ethical issues. We have analyzed the recently emerging initiatives of platform-based manufacturing—including the related literature and supporting technologies—in an international cooperation. Trust-based resource sharing in distributed production systems was investigated using comparative multi-agent simulation methods. New findings were reached on the relation of robustness, complexity, and efficiency in production networks. We specified a network simulation framework together with typical use cases, designed the system architecture and developed special case studies on the circular processing and economic utilization of bio-waste, batteries and textile materials.
The project actively contributed to the creation of the new Innovation and Demonstration Space (IDT) of SZTAKI in 2022, where we regularly demonstrate the results of the project for both international and domestic visitors. Within the framework of the project, a state-of-the-art 5G and a Wi-Fi6 communication network were introduced both in the IDT and in the Institute’s Industry 4.0 laboratory in Győr. There was created a cloud-based framework to support the computing needs of the project, which also includes a reference architecture supporting quantum computing.
The exploitation of the results is also supported by the European Centre of Excellence for Production Informatics and Control (EPIC CoE, 2017-2024), established in the framework of the European Teaming Programme under the coordination of SZTAKI. Some of the results and competences are also reflected in the business portfolio of EPIC InnoLabs Kft., founded by SZTAKI and the German Fraunhofer Society (majority owned by the Hungarian partner). Five new collaborations of a direct industrial nature have been launched, partly with domestic and partly with foreign partners. As a result of one of these activities, we have initiated patenting. Throughout the project, we have continuously renewed our international patent registrations with one of our traditional partners, Hitachi, Japan. During the first two years of the project, we submitted 14 European proposals, mostly Horizon Europe ones, of which 5 were successful.
The above results are summarized in 24 published journal papers (of which 9 are D1, 4 are Q1 and 1 is Q2 journals) and further 4 submitted journal articles, 10 conference papers and another 9 conference abstracts, as well as 2 defended PhD theses. The majority of articles with significant technical content were published under Open Access. We organized five international scientific events in topics related to the COPROLOGS project, and some of our results were also presented at world conferences of prominent scientific organizations. In the course of the project, we performed at many popular scientific dissemination events, which are also reported on the project's website (https://coprologs.eu/).