An Interactive Dashboard Using a Virtual Assistant for Visualizing Smart Manufacturing

In the era of Industry 4.0, manufacturing sites are becoming more sophisticated and connected with the aid of Information Technology (IT) and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) infrastructure. What makes a smart manufacturing enterprise as opposed to a traditional one is the ability to solve existing problems and predict issues to fix them before they occur while creating advantaged value. Dashboards, assisting decision-makers in business markets, can organize data from machines, sensors, and workers into a real-time visual representation. They provide a quick overview of how your entire business is operating and where you stand in relation to the key performance indicators for supporting the development toward more resource-efficient and sustainable processes. However, if users need more information related to the indicators shown on the dashboard, current approaches mainly rely on human effort to search and retrieve the information. The lack of interaction between the dashboard and users often results in inconvenient operations and limits the usage of the tool, especially in the manufacturing industry. In this study, an interaction design is developed to resolve the issue. The proposed dashboard is developed by a three-layer structure including data layer, processing layer, and presentation layer. A virtual assistant is introduced to play the role of a mediator between the dashboard and the user. It provides users with a natural language interface to communicate, directly interacts with the dashboard on users’ behalf, and actively reminds relevant personnel to expedite data collection. Compared with the traditional human-machine interface, the adoption of this lightweight and easy-to-use design can not only create a frictionless and intuitive experience but also ensure that data is displayed in a timely manner.