I would like to share an example of artistic creativity using Factory I/O scenes.
This project was created by students during one of my classes at a university in Taiwan.
The main theme was a factory production line system. However, to make the story more engaging, the students added a truck at the warehouse output area.
This creative idea truly surprised me. It also reminds us of the importance of art and imagination — we should not focus only on rigid rules. Imagination has the power to create anything.
What an amazing art piece! 
It’s quite a unique and creative use for Factory I/O’s parts.
Thank you so much for sharing this, it’s very refreshing. 
Hello,
I’m going to give my opinion on this contribution. I repeat, it’s just my opinion and I could be wrong, with no ill intent:
The truck is beautiful, but I’d like to see the PLC logic to, among other things, understand the reason for its creation. We must keep in mind that scene design is only 2% of the grade, and that’s contingent on it working. The remaining 98% is scene programming. I don’t know, but I get the feeling the students are a bit bored, or rather, demotivated. I think that’s the right word. Then things happen, and there’s no going back, believe me.
If we use Factory IO to create these kinds of “creations,” we’re in trouble.
I insist, this is just my opinion, which could be wrong, but it’s as respectful as any other.
Regards
Hi, Amjavi16
Thank you for your reply and valuable feedback.
Let me explain my teaching and evaluation approach.
Since this course is not specifically focused on programming, the course title is “Industrial Mechanical System Design Practice.” Therefore, some students are not very familiar with PLC programming. For this reason, students work in groups of four, and the evaluation is based on a final project presentation at the end of the semester.
The grading criteria are divided into the following categories:
1.Completeness of the Factory I/O scene functionality
2.Completeness of the PLC program
3.Professionalism of the presentation content and format
4.Transparency of teamwork and task distribution
5.Presentation and speaking performance on stage
Hi Bob Chen:
You’re welcome, that’s precisely why we’re here, to all learn…
Obviously, your teaching system is very different from mine. Let me explain: one semester is six months, four students who aren’t familiar with PLCs, and a project that consists of creating a scene that ultimately leads to the design of a truck—which is hardly an “Industrial Mechanical Systems Design Practice”…
Here’s my opinion, which is just that, an opinion, as respectable as any other, and of course, it could be wrong:
Using FactoryIO under those conditions for six months (a course, we could say), to do what you’re suggesting, explains many things I’ve known for a long time. But I insist, everyone teaches their classes as they see fit, and the results will be what they are, and they can’t be otherwise.
Again, this is my opinion, as respectable as any other, and I have no ulterior motives; it’s simply my opinion.
Regards.
Hi, Amjavi6
Thank you for your reply and valuable feedback.
As mentioned in my previous email, I shared the complete factory design, and you can see that the production line is mainly built using Factory I/O objects.
As I explained in my first post, it was the students themselves who created a truck at the warehouse system output area. Their goal was to make the final presentation more engaging and story-driven.
So my main point is that Factory I/O is just a tool. We hope students can maintain creative imagination, because imagination prevents us from being constrained by existing frameworks and fixed ways of thinking.
In addition, I am also a PLC instructor. I would never ask students to use Factory I/O to create functions that the software itself cannot support. Therefore, when someone first told me that a truck could be created inside Factory I/O, I also believed it was impossible and unnecessary. However, after seeing the final result, I realized that my own imagination had limited my thinking and creativity.
Hi Bob Chen:
Don’t worry, keep teaching your students in the way you think is best for them.
But there’s one thing I’d like you to comment on here, as a PLC instructor, regarding what you wrote:
“I would never ask students to use Factory I/O to create functions that the software itself cannot support.”
Could you give an example of a function that Factory I/O doesn’t support?
Regards.
Hi, Amjavi6
Thank you for sharing your feedback.
As stated in my previous email, and as reflected in the title of my post, we would never ask students to use Factory I/O specifically to create artistic works such as this truck.
What I actually require is for students to explain which real-world industrial applications their Factory I/O production line corresponds to. Usually, students search for related real factory videos on YouTube to explain how industrial hardware operates, and then use the Factory I/O scene to simulate the factory workflow.
Therefore, when this student explained that all logistics systems ultimately require a truck for delivery, he thought: instead of only showing a YouTube video, why not directly create a truck inside the scene?
That is why creating the truck represents a function that Factory I/O was not originally designed to support.
Hi Bob Chen:
Without any ulterior motive, I’ll give you my opinion—and I emphasize, my opinion—and what would happen if this happened to me in my class, and I could be wrong:
I understand your student’s reasoning. Obviously, the boxes or parts, after being prepared in the robot, need to be transported, not necessarily by truck; they could also be by motorcycle. Therefore, the new FACTORY IO should include a parking area outside the building. After creating nearly 180 scenes with the simulator, each one unique in the world, it never occurred to me to create a truck inside the building as your student did. But, well, there’s all sorts of things in the world.
In my opinion—and I repeat, this is just my opinion, without any ulterior motive—if a student created a truck scene with FACTORY IO parts in my programming class, they would fail the course without explanation, and not just the current one, but the next three as well.
I insist, I’m not criticizing anything, nor do I have any ulterior motives. It’s simply what I would do in your situation. I could be wrong, as I’ve already said, but that’s how I would act, believe me…
Regards
