About VF-KDO
VF-KDO (Virtual Factory with Knowledge-Driven Optimization) is a research profile powered by the University of Skövde. The goal is to deliver radical innovations in manufacturing research essential to design and operate next-generation manufacturing systems.
For Future Production Facilities
The research carried out in VF-KDO strongly supports the work related to building and optimizing digital models of the future production facilities. Shorter time to market and shorter product life cycles may increase the demand for flexible, reconfigurable and scalable manufacturing systems. Hence, VF-KDO will need to handle those challenges and simultaneously consider several manufacturing levels, e.g. single machining operations, production lines, and factories.
Another focus of VF-KDO is to assist the operations of a smart and connected factory with real-time autonomous decision-making processes in order to further optimize overall operational planning, prioritization, logistics and control of production.
Partner Companies
The eight-year research profile with its seven partner companies: Volvo Car Engine, AB Volvo, SCANIA, IKEA Industry, FlexLink, Arla Foods Götene and ABB started its work in 2018. Principal investigator and coordinator of the profile is Prof. Amos Ng. Prof. Co-PI is Anna Syberfeldt who has extensive experience in leading industrial-based research projects. Both Prof. Ng and Prof. Syberfeldt are currently based at the University of Skövde.
Unique combination
VF-KDO believes that knowledge extracted for decision support is achieved through systematically exploring, for example by using advanced data mining and other interactive visual analytics techniques on virtual factory models, hence VF (Virtual Factory). KDO (Knowledge-Driven Optimization) have some two-fold meanings: (1) optimizations that aim to generate knowledge, not only mathematically optimal solutions; (2) knowledge-controlled optimizations, instead of some blind/black-box processes. By combining these concepts, VF-KDO is distinguished from other research efforts, both internationally and in Sweden.