Artificial Intelligence for Cloud-Assisted Smart Factory

In the context of industry 4.0, the main way to realize the intelligent manufacturing is to build a smart factory integrated with the advanced technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, and artificial intelligence (AI). With the aim to emphasize the role and potential of cloud computing and AI in improving the smart factories' performances, such as system flexibility, efficiency, and intelligence, we comprehensively summarize and explain the AI application in a cloud-assisted smart factory (CaSF). In this paper, a vertically-integrated four-tier CaSF architecture is presented. Also, the key AI technologies involved in the CaSF are classified and described according to the logical relationships in the architecture hierarchy. Finally, the main issues and technical challenges of AI technologies in the CaSF systems are introduced, and some possible solutions are also given. The application of the AI in smart factories has accelerated the implementation of the industry 4.0 to the certain extent.