Digital Transformation of Production and Manufacturing Systems

• Our research focuses on the Industry 4.0 paradigm to define the interaction of agents in manufacturing supply networks and proposes ways to exchange data between the virtual and physical world. 
• Digital twins: We research CPS (Cyber-Physical systems) and Digital Twins, in which digital models replicate physical systems, to understand how agents, many of which are in different physical spaces, collaborate. We propose a Cloud-manufacturing with XaaS (Everything as a Service) approach to enable service-oriented manufacturing systems rather than product- or process-oriented manufacturing systems. 
• Cloud manufacturing: Production industries need to realize globalized collaboration especially in early phases of product design and development. This necessitates service-oriented interoperability and integration for product lifecycle management. Companies can enhance their supply networks through new platforms offered by cloud manufacturing. 
• Supply network management: Manufacturing industries need to adopt cloudbased platforms and CPS solutions to support their operations. Such platforms would boost early product design, development and then production and delivery. The design of new platforms and architectures could enhance disruptive business models which could further challenge the current product design and manufacturing processes. 
• Operation management models: Businesses can use new operation management models to govern agent interactions. Traditional frameworks are no longer capable of managing the very large number of interactions enabled by the Internet of Things and Digital Twinning. 
• Game theory: We are using Game Theory to investigate the interactions between manufacturing service providers and customers. 
• Sustainability: Additionally, we are looking at how the sustainability paradigm could be extended to manufacturing industries. We use operations research and system analysis and design approaches to model, simulate, and optimize production systems under the Industry 4.0 paradigm.
• Additive manufacturing: Additive manufacturing, in which complex objects are built one layer at a time, is another major disruptor for manufacturing. We are researching how the technology allows for smart product design and development through the interactions on social media platforms. These interactions enrich product requirements, with a technology that already lends itself to a high level of customisation. The vast and seamless information exchange for transferring customers preferences to product specifications and then additive manufacturing process planning is a major research topic in this area. 
• Blockchain: Recent advancements in Web 3 (Blockchain Technology) have initiated the idea of distributed autonomous operations management concepts. The Web 3.0 paradigm offers new collaboration and operations management mechanisms, and can be used in several applications such as autonomous peer-to-peer manufacturing machine service composition models, logistics models in last mile delivery especially for drone applications, supply data traceability, and integrated smart energy consumption models in homes and factories.

• In January 2020, Dr. Valilai was appointed the Associate Editor of ‘Software Technologies’, Frontiers in Manufacturing Technology Journal. 
• Dr. Valilai was appointed the chair of Mobility in CIP (Community Impact Project) at Constructor University in January 2022.

Our research group was established in early 2020. We currently have five doctoral candidates in the group.

• Delaram, J., Houshamand, M., Ashtiani, F., & Fatahi Valilai, O. (2022). Development of public cloud manufacturing markets: A mechanism design approach. International Journal of Systems Science: Operations & Logistics, 1–27.
• Khaturia, R., Wicaksono, H., & Fatahi Valilai, O. (2022). SRP: A Sustainable Dynamic Ridesharing Platform Utilizing Blockchain Technology. In M. Freitag, A. Kinra, H. Kotzab, & N. Megow (Eds.), Dynamics in Logistics (pp. 301–313). Springer International Publishing.
• Moadab, A., Farajzadeh, F., & Fatahi Valilai, O. (2022). Drone routing problem model for lastmile delivery using the public transportation capacity as moving charging stations. Scientific Reports, 12(1), Article 1.
• Navendan, K., Wicaksono, H., & Fatahi Valilai, O. (2022). Enhancement of Crowd Logistics Model in an E-Commerce Scenario Using Blockchain-Based Decentralized Application. In M. Freitag, A. Kinra, H. Kotzab, & N. Megow (Eds.), Dynamics in Logistics (pp. 26–37). Springer International Publishing.
• Rezapour Niari, M., Eshgi, K., & Fatahi Valilai, O. (2021). Topology analysis of manufacturing service supply–demand hyper-network considering QoS properties in the cloud manufacturing system. Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, 72, 102205.