Automated configuration for cost-effective digital solutions

Low-cost digital solutions have been proposed as a means of helping Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in manufacturing. To reduce development costs and enable SMEs to create digital solutions for their specific requirements, workers should be able to configure their own solutions. However, such an approach can be problematic – and at times infeasible – as the SME may not have access to staff with the necessary software skills. Hence, this paper proposes an automated configuration approach for the preparation, customisation, and automatic generation of low-cost digital solutions. This approach was implemented in the development of an Automated Solution Configurator (ASC) platform. The ASC specifically makes use of a particular reference architecture (the so-called Shoestring approach) as a foundation for the design of low-cost digital solutions. These solutions are composed of modules of key functions (referred to as a “Service Module”), which themselves integrate “Building Blocks” (BBs) of low cost technology elements. The paper presents an overview of the ASC platform; its usefulness and usability are evaluated via (a) three industrial application studies, (b) a user study with seven participants and (c) a direct comparison between ASC-based and expert-prepared solutions. The evaluations demonstrate that users with a range of expertise can rapidly create low-cost solutions using the ASC platform. Comparing the ASC-generated code side by side with that written by an expert, the ASC code tends to be longer than a solution developed by an expert but still operates effectively. It is also demonstrated that the ASC approach can support simple solution reuse by reconfiguring technology BBs for different digital solutions.