Title: The product avatar as a product-instance-centric information management concept

Authors: K.A. Hribernik, L. Rabe, K-D. Thoben, J. Schumacher

Addresses: Department of Applied Information and Communication Technology for Production, BIBA – Bremen Institute of Industrial Technology and Applied Work Science at the University of Bremen, Hochschulring 20, 28359 Bremen, Germany. ' Department of Applied Information and Communication Technology for Production, BIBA – Bremen Institute of Industrial Technology and Applied Work Science at the University of Bremen, Hochschulring 20, 28359 Bremen, Germany. ' Department of Applied Information and Communication Technology for Production, BIBA – Bremen Institute of Industrial Technology and Applied Work Science at the University of Bremen, Hochschulring 20, 28359 Bremen, Germany. ' Research Centre for Process and Product Engineering, University of Applied Science Vorarlberg, Hochschulstr. 1, A-6850 Dornbirn, Austria

Abstract: This paper presents the concept of semi-autonomous product-centric information management based on the Product Avatar (PA) concept, discussing the overall concept of distributed and decentralised information management relevant to individual product items and analyses the requirements the concept generates. In that context, it aims at stimulating discussion on the pragmatic utilisation of emerging technologies, such as RFID, wireless networking and ubiquitous computing. This paper further illustrates the benefits of the application of the PA concept in examples related to PLM against a scenario based on a network of organisations connected to the maintenance, repair and operation processes of a product.

Keywords: information management; product avatar; product-centric; RFID; PLM; product lifecycle management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPLM.2006.011055

International Journal of Product Lifecycle Management, 2006 Vol.1 No.4, pp.367 - 379

Published online: 06 Oct 2006 *

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