Innovative approaches in digital metrology: Advancing calibration and management through Industry 4.0 technologies

To address the new metrological challenges brought about by the digital revolution, a series of projects has recently been developed worldwide with the primary aim of promoting a new infrastructure for digital legal metrology. These projects include the use of cloud technologies to support conformity assessment processes, the development of infrastructure for digital calibration certificates, research on the comparability of real and virtual measurements, and the development of assessment methods for machine learning and artificial intelligence. The objective of the present paper is to present Pandora IRTech, a calibration and management software that utilises concepts and technologies from the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The software was built from a conceptual model based on state-of-the-art studies, process mapping, and risk assessment, identifying optimised structures and functionalities for its development. Finally, the applications created to optimise the calibration process and laboratory management in the current context of the digital revolution in metrology are presented and discussed.