Omnifactory: A National Training and Research Testbed for Smart Manufacturing Systems

Omnifactory is a national experimental testbed and technology demonstrator for digital-enabled manufacturing technologies launched in March 2023 that was funded by the UK Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. Omnifactory has its foundations in a sustained programme of fundamental and applied research at the University of Nottingham, UK, aimed at driving the state-of-the-art and developing technologies for open, adaptable, and cost-effective production systems. It primarily focusses on high-value, high-complexity, low/variable volume production, with a significant contribution to aerostructures assembly, although the technologies are applicable to a wide variety of other industries including automotive, nuclear, space, and defence. By moving away from fixed monolithic production lines and towards a more connected and agile production infrastructure, Omnifactory is enabling industry to leverage modern advanced manufacturing and digital technologies. These approaches can be demonstrated in both the physical world, with a variety of fixed and mobile automation, and in the digital world, with a fully connected digital engineering stack. This paper summarises the industrial and societal trends and drivers that Omnifactory aims to address, as well as its context in the research portfolio at the University; then describes the design, implementation, and use of the facility; outlines some early research, training, and engagement results enabled by it; presents some lessons learned; and finally suggests the outlook of the facility for the future.