Ubiquitous manufacturing: Current practices, challenges, and opportunities

Ubiquitous manufacturing (UM) features a “design anywhere, make anywhere, sell anywhere, and at any time” paradigm that grants factories an unlimited production capacity and permanent manufacturing service availability. However, the research and applications of UM have been limited thus far to in-factory operations or logistics. For this reason, this study reviews the current practices of UM, discusses the challenges faced by researchers and practitioners, and determines potential opportunities for UM in the near future. Finally, we conclude that the success of UM depends on the quality of the manufacturing services deployed, and that UM is a realizable target for Industry 4.0.