Use of embedded smart sensors in products to facilitate remanufacturing

Abstract

Unlike in traditional manufacturing, remanufacturers face uncertainty in quality, quantity, and frequency of returned products, making the remanufacturing processes less predictable and remanufacturing decision-making more difficult. The research on the use of embedded smart sensors in products to facilitate remanufacturing through monitoring and registering information associated with the products, e.g., their state-of-health, remaining service life, remanufacturing history, etc., has received increasingly high level of interests. This chapter first introduces the background of sensor-embedded products, including the essential parts of a typical smart sensor and product information model. Next, the current practices toward the development of embedded smart sensors in products are reviewed in detail in two aspects, namely, (1) embedding smart sensors in products and (2) representing and interpreting sensor data. A conceptual framework is presented to illustrate how sensor data gathered using smart sensors can be managed to facilitate product remanufacturing decision-making. Lastly, future research trends are given to address the challenges efficiently in using embedded smart sensors for facilitating remanufacturing processes and planning.