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EURAMET and partners held a successful series of events on ‘digital transformation challenges’ in September

The EC has named the 2020s as ‘Europe's Digital Decade’ with the aim of “empower businesses and people in a human-centered, sustainable and more prosperous digital future.”

To support the topic of digital transformation from a measurement science point of view, and to engage with stakeholders in the area, EURAMET, together with partners, recently held a series of free online sessions to promote recent advancements in many digital fields.

The sessions were one of the most successful ever hosted by EURAMET with over 630 registrants. Speakers included representatives from the EURAMET EMPIR funded projects Communication and validation of smart data in IoT-networks and Metrology for the Factory of the Future . They were joined by speakers from the EURAMET TC-IM working group 'Metrology for Digital Transformation' (M4D) and two of the European Metrology Networks, Mathmet and Advanced Manufacturing. In addition, EUROLAB, the European Federation of National Associations of Measurement, Testing and Analytical Laboratories gave perspectives from their community.

Topics of the sessions included:

• the use of AI and machine learning in calibration labs, science and industry
• examples of digital measuring instruments in industrial applications
• the topic of digital calibration certificates (DCCs), especially on the need for a digital version of a well-established analogue certificate, its fundamental requirements and the basic structure.

All presentations and recordings of the talks are available at the event page.

Each day ended with a ‘Meet the experts’ session where questions from interested participants were addressed and provoked some highly interesting discussions.

Further to these sessions EURAMET organises an open consultation event on Metrology for Digital Transformation  on 9 November.  Stakeholders are invited to share their vision on digital transformation and related measurement science needs and discuss with metrology experts to help shape Europe’s digital agenda. With regard to the role of metrology in this area Mikko Merimaa, EURAMET’s General Secretary, has said 

“Digital transformation already affects the way we live, work, and communicate, while a more fundamental disruption is happening through digitalisation of industrial value chains and public services. Operation of industrial processes and autonomous systems, assessment of the state of the environment, and decision making in the society increasingly rely on data from multiple sources, subsequently processed in cloud environments with AI capabilities. The role of the metrology community is to ensure that our quality infrastructure continues to ensure the quality and reliability of data and data products that are used by industry, citizens, and decision makers”.

Paolo Moscatti, EUROLAB President, comments on the joint initiative:

“The sessions organised by EURAMET in collaboration with EUROLAB, addressed issues of great relevance and complexity for the industrial world. The factory of the future is essential for Industry 4.0. Every sensor, every machine and all involved can communicate in a continuous flow of information. We see a reduction of direct human interaction and, at the same time, an increase in digital systems to make autonomous decisions, precisely based on the data received. We need to pay great attention to the quality of this data, of the measurement, and to the calibration of the numerous sensors that supervise the process. The adoption of machine learning systems and AI algorithms make the problem even more complex: how is it possible to associate a measurement uncertainty with the data obtained by an AI algorithm? These and other issues were addressed by expert metrologists during the sessions. Laboratories must keep up by innovating their processes accordingly and developing systems and services capable of supporting industries in this phase so rich in prospects and opportunities but of a complexity never seen before.”

Professor Alessandro Corsini, Sapienza University of Rome, represented EUROLAB as speaker at the session on machine learning and artificial intelligence:

"A holistic view of production systems is enabled by the introduction of Cyber-Physical-Systems powered by data-driven intelligence in order to form a complete basis for evaluating process/product quality. The aim of sensor layer, as a consequence, is now not only data acquisition and processing but the creation of models for the product, for production and for the mechanisms at play, as well as for the measurement process. In such a context, Machine Learning applied to sensor networks can be interpreted as an augmentation of measurement technology – by taking the entire measurement process into consideration and consequently the metabolism of the production process as well."

These EMPIR projects are co-funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and the EMPIR Participating States.

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