M2M is one of the fastest growing areas
in technology. Consider devices like the
Apple Watch, which are not only capable
of telling time and providing restaurant
recommendations but also include sensors
that monitor activities, capture data, and
report information back to other devices
or applications — all without much human
intervention."
Shivanshu Mishra
Senior Application Engineer, Mitsubishi Electric Automation
C h a p t e r 4
ROBOTIC
COLLABORATION
As alluded to earlier, collaboration is a necessary
tenet of empowering a flexible manufacturing line.
In the context of the manufacturing floor,
collaboration can come in two flavors: human-to-
machine (H2M) and machine-to-machine (M2M)
collaboration. While H2M collaboration is concentrated
on how a person interacts with a machine, M2M
collaboration is concentrated on how machines
communicate with one another such that real-time
processes can be synchronized and optimized.
One of the most important benefits of both H2M
and M2M is their way of handling collaboration
such that the most experienced "user," either
robot or human, has the control to advance the
complete manufacturing process. As part of this, a
major criterion for both H2M and M2M is that they
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10 Experts on Flexible Manufacturing
