# Engineer 4.0 knows industrial internet - Savonia AMK

> Savonia University of Applied Sciences has been participating in an EU-funded Erasmus+ project entitled Virtual Learning Environment in Smart Mini Factory (VLEFACT). The project started on 01.11.2021, and the proposed date of ending is 01.11.2023.

## Project Overview
The VLEFACT project is an EU-funded Erasmus+ initiative involving a consortium of four educational institutions:
*   **Finland:** Ylä-Savo Municipal Federation of Education (YSAO) and Savonia University of Applied Sciences
*   **Germany:** Carl-Benz-Schule Gaggenau
*   **Denmark:** Mercantec

The project's primary objective is to create a joint online learning course titled ”Sustainable smart manufacturing and solutions.” This course utilizes an innovative education model that integrates physical and virtual learning facilities, including augmented and virtual reality, to provide students with access to smart factory technologies.

## Industry 4.0 and Smart Factories
In industrial production, the next leap in profitability and quality is driven by the industrial internet—the internet of things within an industrial environment, commonly referred to as Industry 4.0. 

At Savonia UAS, students in the Bachelor of Engineering, Information Technology (Internet of Things) degree program utilize a smart mini-factory environment produced by the German company Lucas-Nuelle. This setup allows students to conduct pilots in data collection, transfer, and analysis. Because smart factories are less prevalent in Finland compared to countries like Germany, the project aims to rapidly develop expertise to ensure Finnish professionals can lead in utilizing these technologies.

## Learning Modules and Development
The project focuses on developing teaching materials across several modules:
*   **Digital Twins:** Understanding the virtual representations of smart factories.
*   **Collaborative Robots (Cobots):** Human-robot cooperation.
*   **AR/VR/XR:** Utilization of immersive technologies in factory environments.
*   **Sensor Data Collection and Analysis:** Savonia is responsible for this module, focusing on distributed manufacturing and using sensors for data analysis.
*   **Data-Driven Manufacturing:** A module showcasing Savonia’s Industry 4.0 framework, connecting manufacturing units (MES, ERP, PLM) with 5G and the Mindsphere cloud.

## Pilot Results and LTTA 1
In October 2022, approximately 30 students from the partner organizations participated in the first Learning Teaching and Training Activity (LTTA) in Denmark to pilot the initial modules. Projects demonstrated during this event included:

1.  **Robot Control via Leap Motion:** Using optical sensors and infrared lights to control a Niryo Robot arm through hand gestures.
2.  **Object Recognition:** Using Python programming and object modeling to detect, pick, and place specific items (wing nuts and bolts) on a conveyor belt.
3.  **Sensor Data Visualization:** Monitoring machine health by visualizing data from accelerometers, gyroscopes, and microphones to provide real-time alerts.

## Authors
*   Solja Ryhänen
*   Rajeev Kanth
*   Arto Toppinen

*Co-funded by the European Union*