TECHNOLOGY

GAME CHANGERSINDUSTRY, ENERGY, LOGISTICS.

P. 12 INTERVIEW ESBEN

ØSTERGAARD,

WINNER OF

ENGELBERGER

ROBOTICS

AWARD

P. 14 PIONEERS THESE INNOVATORS

ARE CHANGING

THE FACE OF INDUSTRY

The

HANNOVER MESSE

magazine

INDUSTRIALPIONEERS

1 | 18

3INDUSTRIALPIONEERS2 www.industrialpioneers.com

DEAR READERS,

Across the globe, whether in Europe, the USA or China, there is far too much talk about borders and trade tariffs and not enough about education, knowledge, employment, digitization and innovative industry.

We want to change that with our new customer magazine. For decades HANNOVER MESSE has served as a meeting-place for pioneers of industrial innovation and as a showcase where new technology is presented to an inter-national audience.

Our trade shows are rapidly evolving into platforms for knowledge which bring people together from across the globe – live, digitally or via print – to exchange in-formation, share advances, market technology and thus generate greater prosperity.

Like many enterprises and individuals, we depend on free markets and free Internet access to help us attract visitors. We want to reach as many as possible from across the world and provide them with in-depth information and updates, as well as facil-itate discussions with exhibitors about new technology, work in the future and the impact of digitization. And we want to do that all year round.

Our aim is to create a culture of respectful debate and informed discourse gener-ating new ideas, new experiences and a broader perspective of industry and the marketplace. In view of the global challenges facing us, this is something that we need today more than ever before.

Yours

Dr. Jochen Köckler Chairman of the Managing Board at Deutsche Messe

EDITORIAL

INDUSTRIALPIONEERS

I N T E G R A T E D E N E R G Y

1 – 5 April 2019

Hannover ▪ Germany

hannovermesse.com

J O I N T H E E N E R G Y P I O N E E R S

54 www.industrialpioneers.com INDUSTRIALPIONEERS

CONTENTS 1 | 18

YOU CAN ALSO FIND HANNOVER MESSE ON THE FOLLOWING NETWORKS

3 .......... Editorial

6 .......... Working together

8 .......... Innovations for the future

12 ......... Robots with a

human touch

14 ......... Visionaries, movers

and shakers

15 ......... The digital insurer

for industry

16......... New Work:

Back to the future

18 ......... The copper printer

20 ........ Restore synchronized

operation!

22 ........ Cryptocurrency or protocol?

24 ........ Wearable robotics

26 ........ Premiere in the USA

28 ........ Innovations for the future

32 ........ Europe’s next supermodel

or how to speak with

dolphins

36 ........ LiFi instead of WiFI?

38 ........ New technology for a

new business model

40........ The time will come

42 ........ Newcomers

Published byDeutsche Messe AGMessegelände30521 HannoverGermanyTel. +49 511 89-0info@messe.de

Head of editorial boardBrigitte Mahnken-BrandhorstDeutsche Messe AGTel. +49 511 89-31024brigitte.mahnken@messe.de

EditorRobert WeberIndustrial Newsgames GmbH & Co. KGFrankfurter Straße 87/87a97082 WürzburgTel.: +49 931 76029404rw@industrial-newsgames.de

English translationBrian Rasmussen, HamburgTel. +49 40 44 61 62info@team-rasmussen.de

RealizationB&B. Markenagentur GmbHGeorgstraße 5630159 HannoverTel. +49 511 28061-0kontakt@BundB.de

Typesetting and lithographyGebertshan Satz und Repro GmbHSutelstraße 1030659 HannoverTel. +49 511 28478-0contact@gebertshan.de

Printed byDeutsche Messe AGMessegelände30521 HannoverGermany

As of: 8/2018

40The time will come

Even before 3D printing

has become the norm, resear-

chers in the USA and Europe

have 4D printing in

their sights.

36LiFi instead of WiFi?BMW has been testing

communication with

light. Researchers from

Lemgo are now working

on this technology.

12Robotics pioneerEsben Østergaard is regarded as the

inventor of collaborative robots. Here

readers can learn how he envisages a

new working reality.

14Visionaries, movers and shakersSix pioneers set out their ideas

and goals in their respective

fields and show how what they

are doing will shape the future

of manufacturing.

DISCOVER MORE ONLINEYou can read the digital version of the INDUSTRIALPIONEERS magazine on your mobile phone, desktop or tablet and enjoy useful additional features at: www.industrialpioneers.com

Download the QR Code Reader in the App Store and scan the code with your smartphone.

MORE DIALOGUE, MORE KNOWLEDGE, MORE BENEFITS As a subscriber to our free News Service you will receive regular updates of relevance to your trade fair visit, incl. information on exhibitors, top offers and trends. You will also receive tips and recommendations on other events organized by Deutsche Messe. www.hannovermesse.de/en/newsletter

7INDUSTRIALPIONEERS6 www.industrialpioneers.com

HUMANS AND MACHINESWORKING

TOGETHERCollaborative robotics is part of the factory of the future. When

cobots interact with humans, work becomes easier and more

efficient. Learn about these new machines at HANNOVER MESSE –

the hub for people and technology.

9INDUSTRIALPIONEERS8 www.industrialpioneers.com

Beginning this autumn, the techno-logy cluster “it s OWL” will be com-mence several new projects. The participating enterprises and research organizations will explore new ave-nues in artificial intelligence, digital platforms, digital twins and the changing work environment. Com-panies can apply for transfer projects with research institutes in which they can get to grips with specific challeng-

es inherent in digital transformation. The State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, has committed €50 million in funds. An equivalent amount will be contributed by industry. In total, €200 million has been earmarked for various projects between now and 2022. These funds come from regional and national government sources, as well as from the EU. The German company Miele, for example, will team up with six other companies to explore the potential of machine learning in production applications. ■

RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY

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OWL INITIATES NEW PROJECTS

Artificial intelligence (AI) is making such rapid inroads that no modern company can afford to ignore it. This magazine provides an overview of what it all means: the uses, implications and trends in AI.

INDUSTRIAL INTELLIGENCE

DEEP LEARNING EVIDENCE BASED

RECOMMENDATION

ENGINES

MACHINE

LEARNING

SYSTEMS

PREDICTIVE

ANALYTICS

PRESCRIPTIVE

ANALYTICS

NLP/TEXT MINING NATURAL LANGUAGE GENERATION

Data LanguageDocument

DataExtraction Rules

Barack Obama

Tax Reform

IRS

John Boehner

US Congress

January 10, 2018

AssessmentsFacts

PredictionAdvice

Assessment

Available FeaturesAvailable Features

Unstructured Data

Documents

Possible Answers

Structure Trends &

CorrelationsRecommendation

Hidden

Layers

Input

Layer

Output

Layer

+ ==

==

+

+ +

+

STATISTIC

467 km/h

This speed was clocked up by the prototype

Hyperloop pod developed by Munich’s

Technical University. It took 40 minutes to

evacuate the air from the transport tube.

This is the fastest speed so far achieved at

the SpaceX test site.

DATA ETHICS COM-MISSION APPOINTS TWO SPOKESWOMEN

RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY

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Digital technology improves our everyday lives and delivers benefits for business, science and society. At the same time the application of this technology raises some serious issues. For this reason, Germany’s Federal Government has decided to convene a Data Ethics Commission. The 16 members have been given one year to formulate an ethical and legal framework for the handling of data, algorithms and artificial intelligence. Two spokeswomen have been appointed: Professor Christiane Woopen, a medical ethics expert from Cologne University, and Professor Christiane Wendehorst, a legal expert based at Vienna Univer-sity. The line-up also includes Professor Wolfgang Wahlster from the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI). He has been joined by five legal experts, plus other leading personalities from the fields of ethics research, theology, software technology and consumer/data protection. According to the DFKI, our future competitiveness will depend on new digital value chains based on AI technologies such as machine learning. ■

NEWS HUBINNOVATIONS

FOR THE FUTURE

The IOTA cryptocurrency centres on the Internet of Things and is commit-ted to popularizing this technology within industry. At the end of 2019 IOTA wants to establish an industrial consortium with the aim of initiating joint projects and gaining new experience. This has been confirmed by an IOTA spokesman. Robert Bosch Venture Capital has already invested in IOTA, while Volkswagen will initiate its first IOTA project in 2019.

Sopra Steria and Fujitsu have also signed up. Industrial security start-ups regard IOTA as a means of safeguarding their processes. At HANNOVER MESSE 2018 DXC presented relevant applications. The IOTA developers have reportedly commenced negotiations in East Westphalia, Germany. IOTA is based on a so-called “tangle”, a mathematical concept. Unlike a one-dimensional blockchain, which can grow in only one direction, a tangle can grow simultaneously at various places. Put simply, blockchain transactions are linear, whereas IOTA constitutes an entire network. ■

IAMD

IOTA CURRENCY SETS UP AN INDUSTRIAL CONSORTIUM

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Source: Narrative Science

10 www.industrialpioneers.com 11INDUSTRIALPIONEERS

Additive manufacturing (AM) techniques are acquiring ever greater importance in the mechanical engineering sector – not only for the creation of prototypes, but also as a complementary production method. According to a recent study by the VDMA Additive Manufacturing Association, almost 50% of the companies questioned use 3D printing and other additive manufacturing techniques. In most cases only a relatively small capital outlay is involved. However, according to the study some companies had invested six-figure sums in AM plant and equipment. Both metals and plastics are deployed. One half of the companies included in the survey focus exclusively on 3D-printed plastics, while one quarter concentrate solely on metals. All the other companies included in the survey use both types of material. Rapid prototyping is still of greatest importance. 50% of the companies list it as the main application. The other 50% deploy AM techniques for series production, toolmaking and the creation of spare parts. ■

In Aachen e.GO has begun volume production of electric vehicles. This summer Armin Laschet (Premier of North Rhine-Westphalia), Marcel Philipp (Mayor of Aachen) and Professor Gün-ther Schuh (CEO, e.GO Mobile AG) officially opened a new car factory in the Rothe Erde district of Aachen. Two hundred guests from business, science and politics attended the event. The new factory – a showcase for Industrie 4.0 – will produce a new electric vehicle intended for urban applications – the e.GO Life. The entire production process (design, component sourcing, materials handling, assembly) is characterized by seamless digital continuity. The first produc-tion versions of the e.GO Life will be delivered to customers at the end of the year. The facto-ry (consisting of an assembly line, warehouse facilities and office space) covers a total area of 16,000 square metres. Once the factory is up and running, 142 employees working a single-shift system will produce 10,000 vehicles a year. ■

INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY INTEGRATED ENERGY

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Penetration tests (“pen tests”) simulate attacks on IT systems. According to a report by the security expert Adrian Janotta, pen tests tend to be inefficient as they execute all the available signatures. Human pen testers therefore remain indispensable, although – according to Janotta – the prospects of success vary from tester to tester. Thanks to Janotta’s deep learning algorithms, unsupervised pen tests can be performed automatically. This has certain advantag-

es compared with manual tests due to the fact that untagged data occur more frequently than tagged data, as Janotta says. Unsupervised tests can be performed on various deep structures – for example, software, networks and server infrastructures. With each successive scan carried out automatically the algorithm immediately learns what vulnerabilities to expect and checks the system for possible security f laws. ■

DIGITAL FACTORY

AI SUPPORTS PENETRATION TESTS

AVERAGE TOTAL COST OF A DATA BREACH BY COUNTRY, 2018

FIRST NEW CAR FACTORY IN 55 YEARS

3D PRINTING: NOT JUST FOR PROTOTYPES

7.91*

4.74*

4.67*

4.27*

3.68*

3.43*

3.38*

2.88*

2.53*

2.16*

1.77*

United States

Canada

Germany

France

United Kingdom

Italy

Japan

South Africa

Australia

Turkey

India

Brazil 1.24*

Source: IBM, statista (BUSINESS INSIDER)

* Million US Dollars

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QUOTE

Someone who accords political priority to artificial

intelligence and places “algorithm” in the realm of an

“ivory tower” is the wrong choice for the job.

Prof. Dr. Marco Lübbecke, RWTH Aachen,

talking about Federal Education Minister Anja Karliczek.

„“ The trend on the energy market is decen-tralization, but innovative solutions are needed to make the electricity grid more flexible, connect different sectors intelli-gently and link up new market players. “Integrated Energy” is the hub for key decision-makers in business and politics.

INTEGRATEDENERGY – CONTACT US!Basilios Triantafillos Tel. +49 511 89-31156

FLEXIBLE GRID

Today Universal Robots products can be found in factories across the world. But there is no limit to the company’s ambi-tions. Can we expect to see UR cobots at the jeweller’s shop or perhaps doing pave-ment drawings? Why not? The current period is one of changing consumer habits. Our generation is so aff luent and focused on individualization that demand is growing for products crafted by hand. Cutting costs is no longer the exclusive consideration of manufactur-ing. Instead we must ask ourselves whether we can demand double the price despite being in a better position to meet consumer needs?

Will the human touch be reintroduced to the factory of the future?

Absolutely. Things have moved way beyond caged industrial robots carrying

out automated processes to replace human labour in the workplace. Collaborative robots are now augmenting human intelligence and delivering the speed, accuracy and precision needed to create modern products, while ensuring the right mix of the human touch and technology. This is why we will see more cobots in new applications.

Do companies really need cobots?The trend among consumers is clearly in favour of products which convey human empathy, engagement and creativity. In future con-sumers will also be prepared to pay more for them. For example, watches, craft beers, tables, chairs,

designer items or black lava salt from Iceland. Customers accept new technology such as cobots to speed up the manufacturing process, but they want to retain the human touch.

So we can expect some big changes in industrial production?It’s already happening. China is trying hard to keep manufactur-ing in the country but many foreign companies are moving back to their country of origin – and their home markets. Digitization, 3D printing and cobots, of course, are restoring local production. In future we will still have some huge factories – for example, plant producing aluminium – but we will also see many small produc-tion centres manufacturing for local markets.

You call it Industrie 5.0…Well yes, although it is not a continuation of Industrie 4.0, but a redefinition of work and consumption – it is more a social than a technical development. We want to create jobs that are consid-erably more meaningful and fulfilling than the factory jobs that have occupied people for centuries. Industrie 5.0 is almost a return to pre-industrial production in a form that is possible only on the basis of the most advanced technology.

Your cobots?Our cobots are part and parcel of this mega trend. Our early ex-periences in Denmark have taught us how quickly markets change and how important it is to adapt and redefine products.

What do you mean? I think cobots could only have been developed in a country like Denmark because instead of huge industrial plant with robotic assembly lines we have many SMEs. Our search for solutions to their problems led to the development of the cobot. History could now repeat itself.

But large companies have also bought your products – and are still buying them. The market is developing quickly, also for our own big clients. Our business experts estimate growth of up to 60 percent, which we expect will lead to an additional two billion euros of cobot sales in Europe in the coming years.

Meanwhile more and more competitors are emerging on the market…It is natural that other companies will want to make money in this market. There are now more than 40 competitors.

The leading trade show Integrated Automation, Motion & Drives (IAMD) covers the entire spectrum of industrial automation, IT, power transmission and f luid technology. From mechanical and electrical engineering to robotics and process automation. The keen interest in the vari-ous displays generates synergies between the individual industrial sectors – for example, between production and intralogistics. Production of the future is real and tangible for visitors at the IAMD. With more than 2,300 exhibi-tors showcasing 9,000 new products and over 500 events, visitors can identify the latest trends.

IAMD –CONTACT US!Emanuel Marra Thomas BothorTel. +49 511 89-31146 Tel. +49 511 89-32124

HOTSPOT INDUSTRIE 4.0

How do you think the various cobots of the future will differ from one another? Obviously all cobots must meet the required safety standards if they are to have any market success. But there will be clear dif-ferences in terms of their programming and f lexibility. The users must be able to modify the programs themselves in order to use the cobot meaningfully. For years this has been a focus of our work – for example, at our Universal Robots Academy. We train users and make them fit for the future. Companies need f lexibility – in future there will be fewer robotic assembly lines.

Because production will involve smaller plant at local sites?Perhaps. It is becoming increasingly difficult for companies to plan. For this reason robots need to be f lexible and fast in order to assist humans in the development of new processes to deliver new products. ■

PRODUCTION IN THE FUTURE

ROBOTS WITH A

HUMAN TOUCHEsben H. Østergaard, founder and CTO of Universal Robots, is the pioneer of

collaborative robots. The Danish inventor recognized the need for the human touch

in manufacturing and has developed new ideas for industrial production.

13INDUSTRIALPIONEERS12 www.industrialpioneers.com

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15INDUSTRIALPIONEERS

Six professionals are changing the face of industry. Here we introduce

these pioneers – the protagonists of new ideas, new technology, new

business models and new forms of work. We discuss their contribution to

the industry of tomorrow and take a look at printed electronics, cryptocur-

rency, the role of artificial intelligence in process monitoring and control,

the analysis and visualization of production data, as well as programming

a robot. Does this insight into the latest technological developments

reveal the future of work?

INDUSTRIAL PIONEERS VISIONARIES,

MOVERS AND

SHAKERS

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Bond left his native America, arriving in Berlin in the early 1990s where he settled and set up several companies, including one engaged in developing voice command control, which boasted top clients such as Volkswagen. In the course of these ventures he gained insights into the world of industry. Relayr was the outcome, a f lourishing business with interests in five countries that now employs 200.

“For SMEs, digitization is not rocket science – we realized it could only work if we had a good understanding of the world of OT and IT”, says Bond. The company in Berlin is not a data anal-ysis centre. The company has set itself the goal of understanding the entire production process as well as the old and new machines involved. It will then collect data from the production line to store it in the cloud and analyze it using algorithms. Relayr guaran-tees that by installing the Relayr platform in on-prem, cloud or hybrid systems it will offer the f lexibility to integrate new and old industrial IoT features and business models within the current IT ecosystem. That might appear complicated at first to smaller com-panies, but investors are queuing up. In the last two years more than €50 million has f lowed. In spring 2018 Deutsche Telekom alone invested €30 million.

Bond realized: “We have a chance of getting business among SMEs only if we are prepared to become acquainted with their

production processes. This creates confidence among owners.” The Relayr CEO is sure this is the right approach but does not think confidence can be built solely by offering knowledge, so they have secured the backing of an investor. “We insure the projects. We make a commitment.” The Relayr investor is Munich RE.

In an official statement the company explains that particularly when switching from Capex to Opex-based business models new issues will emerge in connection with liquidity and risk. These would be revealed within the Relayr project and addressed accord-ingly in the form of innovative funding alternatives and insurance developed in cooperation with the company‘s partners. What does

this mean precisely? Joachim Wenning, CEO at Munich RE, explains in his blog: “Today it is possible, with the aid of sensors, to predict and avoid malfunctions. So why not take this to its logical conclusion and offer the customer a guarantee on a specific machine capacity?” In his blog he discusses the opportunities provided by digitization in manufacturing enterprises. “Insurers want to earn from this too. Sensors are changing production and risk management. To the same degree that industrial players are increasingly networked, so too will their needs and risks be altered. New financial requirements must be met in a networked world in which customers will pay only for what they actually need – whether equipment, machinery or vehicles. Customers may be less interested in cover for damage or risk minimization, but want a guarantee for certain performance levels of machines and equipment.”

This philosophy appeals to Bond. “Innovation is the enemy of security. But with Munich RE we bring security into the project.” And in Germany? Do SMEs feel too secure? “No, Germany has a great position in mechanical engineering and companies have the relevant data. AI is not an American discovery, Germany is also ahead in this field of cutting-edge research”, says Bond, who also gives the following advice to SMEs: “Try things out and learn that failure happens. That is an important lesson businesses can learn from companies in the US.” ■

JACKSON BOND

THE DIGITAL INSURER

FOR INDUSTRYJackson Bond and the other two founders of Relayr in Berlin share an ambitious goal. Bond’s enthusiasm

is evident as he explains: “In two years we want to be seen as the standard for data applications in predictive

analysis in mechanical engineering.” Together with partners in the insurance sector he is changing the

business models of SMEs.

“ For SMEs, digitization is not rocket science.”

– Jackson Bond

17INDUSTRIALPIONEERS16 www.industrialpioneers.com

“No, but we didn’t take it any further back then and at the same time there was a lot of restructuring going on. That was poison for the new work philosophy. Controlling took the lead in industry for many years.” Does this mean the tide is now turning? “Yes, companies are looking for creativity and new work structures.” But Sabine Kluge still encounters some of the old problems: doctrines such as ‘Someone has to take responsibility’ or ‘That’s how we’ve always done it’ or ‘That never worked in the past either’. “What does that mean specifically, who is punished, the CEO or who,” wonders Kluge time and again. She wants to jettison the doctrines because they slow things down, create insecurity, disrupt coopera-tion and prevent innovation. “New Work is not a revolution with lounges and ideas from dreamland. It is evolutionary and close to manufacturing.”

A project with the two production planners Robert Harms and Ronny Grossjohann – an extremely bold project for a traditional corporate culture – supports what she’s saying:

A new burner production facility was due to be built at Siemens’ gas turbine plant in order to improve plant productivity. The pro-duction site in Berlin – challenging both technologically and geo-graphically – was to become a model site. An investment totalling around €12 million had to be approved by the management board. The managers in Munich wanted an Ownership Culture and the Siemens employees delivered. Yet after the money had been autho-rized, the project team struggled to get going with the existing management tools. The project crawled along and enthusiasm was lacking. “The planners and employees sat in the office and mulled over the plans, but the spark was missing. And while valuable time was being wasted, frustration started to creep in: “This won’t get them excited. We have to find out what moves them; how do we reach their hearts?”

By observing the dynamics of the teams, it soon became obvious that the participants were not inspired by the project management plans – which had seemed so perfect on paper – because they suppressed the creative drive of the knowledge holders. Ownership Culture and agility were difficult to reconcile with the “waterfall”. Grossjohann and Harms responded accordingly: “We’ll let them

organize themselves. We simply make a room available and let go. And wherever we let go, things suddenly happened that we would never have managed on our own. We suddenly experienced at first hand people’s energy and self-confidence, and quickly unders-tood that the core of knowledge is found at the grass roots level. The more we let go, the more groundbreaking ideas appeared. Employees who had previously spent 20 years working silently at “their” grinding machine suddenly took an active part in discus-sions, voiced their ideas and took responsibility in the discussions about manufacturing design – and about six-figure budget issues!” And, adds Robert Harms: “After six months at an unsuccessful standstill, all of a sudden our only task was to create the space and bring together people’s knowledge. And after a year, we suddenly realized that we are completely agile.”

And what do the bosses, who have spent years working their way up the company hierarchy, do? “Good question; they’re afraid of chaos and of losing control,” reports Kluge. In Berlin, the ma-nagers also work in a team to focus on strategic tasks: which new supplier should be brought on board, which components should we replace? “And the co-workers manage and engage in personnel development – genuine personnel development.”

How agile does a corporation really have to be? Does the manage-ment board need to be elected democratically by the employees? Or is it more important to give people a sense of meaning at the work level through worker participation and transparency in their immediate working environment? If self-organization cannot be introduced, only prevented, the key task for decision makers in companies is to eliminate barriers, let go and put their trust in the competence of the many. Yes, that also means a loss of control, which doesn’t appeal to everyone. But, as Ronny Grossjohann and Robert Harms themselves experienced, it was the very moment of letting go that ignited the fire of a common cause among all those involved. And suddenly Ownership Culture is possible: whole-hearted commitment and genuine pride in working towards shared success – and this happens at precisely the place in the company where the value is created.

Is it possible to be a little less evolutionary in the first step? “We have to work on the human role in production and on communica-ting with the people on the production line; that’s when collabo-ration occurs,” explains Kluge. Those are the beginnings – New Work isn’t so difficult after all. ■

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“ New Work is not a revolution with lounges and ideas from dreamland. It is evolutionary and close to manufacturing.”

– Sabine Kluge

SABINE KLUGE

NEW WORK:

BACK TO THE FUTURE

If Sabine Kluge could travel back to the past, she would land at Siemens in the 1990s and watch

the first semi-autonomous groups at work. “At the time we all swotted up on the Toyota Prin-

ciple and applied it to our processes as best we could,” explains Kluge, who began her career in

strategic planning at Siemens in Obersendling – having taken the traditional route of a degree

in business studies. So self-organization in manufacturing is not all that new?

18 www.industrialpioneers.com

“We supply many sectors of industry with various printing materials, but we see great growth po-tential in electronics production,” says the en-trepreneur from Eastern Westphalia, Germany. The additive manufacturing industry is devel-oping massive printing capacities worldwide, and analysts are predicting potential sales worth billions. So as Gärtner sees it, specialization is in demand. Protiq is a service provider, producing to order for customers as far away as the USA and India. From interfacing with the customer online to planning the work schedule, everything at Protiq is automated, but human intervention is still needed for some tasks, such as clearing the assembly space, removing the finished product from the printer, finishing it, and forwarding it for despatch. “We are working towards full automa-tion, and talking to numerous manufacturers of automation systems”, assures Gärtner. The com-pany plans to develop digital value-adding chains, understand how they work, and then create interfaces. “Only then will additive manufactur-ing and 3D printing become economically viable in the long term in high-wage countries too”, says Gärtner, who trained as a mechanical engineer. The digital value-adding chain has a key role to play if additive manufacturing is to succeed. “Sending quotations and orders back and forth as pdf files would be time-consuming, and it would only make the whole process unnecessarily complicated”, believes Gärtner. So is Protiq an example of the platform economy in industry? “I’m always a bit sceptical myself, because I don’t think designers will be willing to work online, on third-party platforms, and divulge their develop-ment data. That’s still a long way off when I see how many confidentiality agreements we have to sign every day before designers will upload critical manufacturing data to our platform in order to get a direct online quotation from us”, says the Protiq CEO with a laugh.

The company employs over 20 people, and Gärt-ner has no shortage of skilled staff himself. “But we need to do more in the way of training. We have engineers and skilled technicians working for us, and many of them can design things for traditional manufacturing methods, but not for additive manufacturing. Furthermore, the finish-ing work required for printed materials presents new challenges to our employees. So we need to address these things at the training stage”, he warns. He is currently having meetings with government officials and representatives of industry associations. “Networked digitization is changing our factories, our processes and our job profiles”, Gärtner points out. And now SMEs are discovering additive manufacturing for themselves. Protiq prints machine parts and gear wheels, and wants to make life easier for industrial companies. “We shall be launching an online topology optimizer in the near future, designed to make lightweight construction easy. The customer gets a quotation for uploading his data set to the platform, marks design areas and non-design areas, defines the forces and stresses to which the construction may be subjected, and the algorithmics we use reduce the material requirement within 24 hours.” At present, this takes about two weeks according to Gärtner. In addition to specialized knowledge of processes, materials, machining and design, Protiq also needs IT experts, therefore. Additive manufac-turing, combined with networked digitization, is what Industrie 4.0 is really all about. That means developing new products and tools, testing new business models, learning about new materials and their properties, operating new hardware, relearning the business of product design, auto-mating the process chain, integrating it into a network with full customer access, and digitizing it. It can’t get much more complex than that. ■

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“We see great growth potential in electronics production.” – Ralf Gärtner

RALF GÄRTNER

THE COPPER PRINTERRalf Gärtner and his colleagues can do something that many businesses can only

dream of: they can print highly conductive structures from copper coils in just five

working days. “This can take up to ten weeks, using traditional methods”, says

Gärtner. How do he and his team do it? They are not telling. All they will say is that

it involves specialized knowledge of processes, materials and machines. Gärtner

heads Protiq, the latest spin-off from Phoenix Contact, and also gets a little help

from the parent company when it comes to electronics know-how.

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He and his team are working on the region’s structural strategy and its energy transformation, in which artificial intelligence plays an important part. “Our goal is to develop an energy generation plant that operates autonomously, identifies damage and can run in critical situations, excluding the possibility of standstills or fur-ther damage. In short, we want an operating plant that makes its own decisions on how to react in the event of potential damage.”

Schulz says that the company monitors “everything that is pow-ered mechanically” in gas, water and wind turbines by using artifi-cial intelligence. He adds: “Despite sophisticated sensor technology it would be impossible for us to draw as many conclusions as we can today without AI. One person could never analyze so much data.” Schulz estimates that around 600,000 measurements per sensor, per minute are produced in a wind power station. Sound data, for example, can be collected and aggregated via a decentral-ized field bus or PLC in cycles of a few seconds up to several hours, depending on the protocol. This data is then fed to an IM&P serv-er. A genetic algorithm with weak AI establishes recursive neural networks which compare the data with images of damage or report threshold levels which have been exceeded. This is no simple task due to the volume of technical details to monitor across the entire drive train of the wind energy plant, as well as the f luctuations in wind-generated energy (for example, Central Europe typically experiences strong f luctuations in wind speeds), the connection of wind energy plant to the central grid but also the whole process control, which means that it is necessary to compensate for the sometimes strong variations in the measurement data.

Schulz adds: “Often we do not have an ideal damage hotspot. Even the sum of several small faults can cause a system shutdown, and these tiny defects are frequently overlooked by human opera-tors. However, the dynamic of non-linear, mechanical three-body problems normally exhibits chaotic elements as well.” In effect, the movement of all degrees of freedom of a machine would have to be monitored by sensors, and for commercial reasons alone this is not an option. The important thing is the ability to detect physical sig-nals at their precise location through measurements taken at a few points across the interaction of the individual components. The realization of this task with AI methods demands, in particular, knowledge of the machine and its operations. Schulz is critical of the way AI is discussed in public: “The idea of running AI through

a machine controlling operating data as if it were a simple matter of turning a switch on and off is just media hype. The command ‘Machine, restore synchronized operation’ is infinitely more diffi-cult than the commands we know from our smartphones.”

Returning to the wind power plant: Neuronal networks learn from every incident of damage or from every threshold level exceeded. They work with historic data, but also reference data from other wind plant in the energy park. Currently, a maintenance team will be called out to a wind energy plant in the event of any damage or any deviation in a measurement. “That costs a lot of money. We want machines that will make decisions before a fault causes

a standstill.” Schulz calculates that a three megawatt plant incurs annual operation and maintenance costs of around €100,000. Much of this is due to standstills and natural wear and tear. Two thirds of these costs, however, are due to primary damage that previously could not be identified. “Over a two-year period an operator could save €25,000 per plant. Imagine how much that would come to for a wind park – that’s not even including the standstills.”

The energy sector trusts Schulz’s algorithms. Server data from Finland, Denmark, South Africa and Turkey is processed in Halle. “The whole energy industry invests in AI, at the moment especial-ly in weak AI, which makes it easier to monitor the process”, says Schulz, whose algorithms have proven their worth in controlling district heating networks. However, as he says: “That’s another story.” ■

PROF. DR. MICHAEL SCHULZ

RESTORE SYNCHRONIZED

OPERATION! The trains leaving Halle traverse the mining area of Eastern Germany, passing the smoking stacks of

power stations that are still coal-fired. For Prof. Dr. Michael Schulz the mighty cooling towers are a

familiar sight from his office at Indalyz Monitoring & Prognostics (IM&P) GmbH.

“ Despite sophisticated sensor technology it would be impossible for us to draw as many conclusions as we can today with-out AI. One person could never analyze so much data.”

– Prof. Dr. Michael Schulz

22 www.industrialpioneers.com

His product is a cryptocurrency – or a “protocol” as he prefers to call it. “At the time we weren’t thinking about industry. Instead we wanted to simplify and safeguard communication and the exchange of values in the Internet of Things”, Schiener explains. The IOTA cryptocurrency was born. “We don’t believe in all this digital coin hype.”

But for many industry representatives digital coins are a dream come true. Blockchain technology eliminates bureaucratic hurd-les. In future, contracts will be executed by means of computer protocols (“smart contracts”). It would be true to say that industry envisages direct money transfers between machines. Are limited Bitcoins the proper solution for payment transactions between robots, or between guided trucks and the lead vehicle in a platoon? Is blockchain really the right technology? “No, a blockchain is not scalable. At IOTA we are exploring a different avenue”, says the IOTA founder self-confidently. IOTA is based on a so-called “tangle”. Unlike a one-dimensional blockchain, which can grow in only one direction, the mathematical concept of a tangle can grow simultaneously at various places. Put simply, blockchain transac-tions are linear, whereas IOTA uses an entire network. In addition, a tangle does not depend on miners.

IOTA aims to be so “lightweight” that even small embedded sys-tems (e.g. on-board car computers, smartphones and drones) can easily process payment transactions. There are no fees. Each mem-ber of the network pays by means of the individual computing capacity. The advantage: the higher the transaction rate (i.e. the greater the number of users), the greater the degree of scalability. The system is infinitely scalable. According to IOTA, the system becomes faster and faster in direct proportion to the number of users and transactions. As soon as a critical size has been achieved, the time lapse between the initiation of a transaction and its vali-dation is virtually zero. Has IOTA solved the latency problem?

“We are not yet production-ready as we have to develop the pro-tocol and adapt it to industrial requirements”, Schiener admits. In the coming months Schiener and his IOTA Foundation want to learn more about industrial processes and discover where IOTA can be integrated sensibly into existing systems. “In the projects we experience a mixture of decentralized and centralized control”, Schiener explains. He and his co-founders are promoting an open ecosystem and are committed to attracting large numbers of indus-

trial partners. This is the reasoning behind the IOTA Foundation. “Our goal is to create an independent IoT protocol and to break down barriers.” And how does he earn his money? “I own IOTA stock and pay my rent out of the positive price trend”, he says with a laugh.

Can IOTA transfer data as well as payments? According to Schie-ner, the answer is “Yes”. Theoretically, IOTA can instruct the ro-bot to turn to the right, pick up a particular package and receive/pay for a firmware update at 2 a.m. tomorrow morning. In addi-tion, industrial enterprises can use IOTA as a basis for connecting

and controlling all their products. This is of direct relevance to Industrie 4.0. Fujitsu – an industrial partner of Schiener and his 60-member IOTA team – stated the following: “This represents a genuine alternative to cloud-based solutions. Together with IOTA we can create digital twins, given the fact that the machine sends back unfalsifiable data – data we can use to control machines and to test/execute processes.”

What else is happening on the industrial front? Robert Bosch Venture Capital has already invested in IOTA. In 2019 Volks-wagen will initiate its first IOTA project. Sopra Steria and Fujitsu have also signed up. Industrial security start-ups see IOTA as a means of safeguarding their processes. At HANNOVER MESSE 2018 DXC presented relevant applications. And what about small and medium-sized enterprises? “Initial discussions have commen-ced in the East Westphalia region”, Schiener confirms, without going into further detail. “At the end of 2019 we will set up a con-sortium in which industrial enterprises can participate”, Schiener explains. What is the precondition for a breakthrough? “We need secure connections – for autonomous vehicles, machines and ener-gy systems. Everything depends on 5G.” ■

DOMINIK SCHIENER

CRYPTOCURRENCY

OR PROTOCOL? Until 2015 Dominik Schiener had absolutely nothing to do with industry. Born in Berlin but with roots

in South Tyrol, Austria, Schiener left school and founded a string of start-up enterprises. He went

bankrupt and lost all his money. In 2015 he teamed up with David Sønstebø, Sergey Ivancheglo and

Serguei Popov to found IOTA. Since then he has been in high demand in industrial circles.

“We don’t believe in all this digital coin hype.” – Dominik Schiener

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25INDUSTRIALPIONEERS24 www.industrialpioneers.com

The system reduces compression forces in the lower back.

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The government has recognized the problem, and legislated accordingly. A so-called Load Handling Regulation has been introduced in Germany. It is designed to protect employees in the workplace, but does not define legal limits for exposure to stress. The law simply states that such limits should be set for each individual worker as appropriate, and Dr. Peter Heiligen-setzer of German Bionic Systems knows exactly what that means in practice: “Employees would rather lift heavy goods by themselves, without recourse to complicated lifting tackle, in order to save time – and make time for an extra cig-arette break.“ His wearable robot, the Cray X exoskeleton, is designed to give workers the best of both worlds: stress-free lifting that also saves them time. “The system reduces compression forces in the lower back area,” says Heiligenset-zer, summarizing the main benefit in a single sentence. It sounds simple enough, but it wasn’t developed overnight.

Heiligensetzer and his team, consisting of soci-ologists, physiotherapists, experts in workplace ergonomics and mechanical engineers, have been working on the product for the last six years – initially as part of an EU research project, in collaboration with Fiat and a number of automo-tive parts suppliers, then as a separate business, German Bionic Systems, backed by private investors. “When I was working for Kuka, I did a lot of thinking about exoskeletons”, explains the trained mechanical engineer, who founded the company in 2017. “We are now working towards mass production,” says Heiligensetzer, whose previous business experience was in the planning and realization of automation systems. But even at this stage, the first industrial compa-nies are already buying the exoskeleton, which is equipped with tiny electric motors, weighs 7.9 kilos, offers 15 kilos of load support, and can operate for eight hours on standard cordless drill batteries. “The weight is supported on the hips, just like a hiking rucksack. The idea is to relieve the load on the back and shoulders,” adds Heiligensetzer.

He unveiled his idea for the first time at an in-dustry conference in the autumn of 2016. It got an enthusiastic reception from his audience. Cray X supports its users in two modes, which are con-trolled by a smart watch. Heiligensetzer explains: “The first mode is for order-picking in a forced or awkward position. The exoskeleton supports people who have to work in a fixed position bent over forwards.” The user can “let go” and allow the exoskeleton to do the work of supporting the back, which relieves the pressure on the back mus-cles. The second mode is designed to safeguard the user against potentially damaging movements when the body is under excessive strain. The ro-bot relieves the strain on the wearer’s lower back when lifting heavy objects by imitating and am-plifying movements in an active-assistive capacity. An electromyographic (EMG) armband measures the muscle tension in the arm.

The International Federation of Robotics esti-mates that around 370 exoskeletons were sold in 2015. For 2019, the figure is expected to be 6,500. A study by BIS Research has projected a market volume of 4.65 billion US dollars by the year 2026. The main competition comes from Japan. Big names such as Hyundai and Panasonic are developing their own exoskeletons. And industry is already trying them out: workers at BMW and Audi wear the robot suits on the assembly line.

Heiligensetzer is keen to profit from the boom, with technology and f lexibility as key selling points. “We react quickly to customer demands – for example, by changing the materials we use. Most of our inquiries at present come from production and logistics”, says the CEO of the company. But he also sees promising new markets for the future in the emergency services, nursing and the construction sector. ■

DR. PETER HEILIGENSETZER

WEARABLE ROBOTICSBad posture when lifting and carrying causes injury to workers, costs employers

money and is responsible for 23 per cent of all sickness-related absences from work.

Dr. Peter Heiligensetzer, an engineer from Augsburg, wants to change all that –

with a wearable robot.

“ We react quickly to customer demands – for example, by changing the ma-terials we use. Most of our inquiries at present come from production and logistics.”

– Dr. Peter Heiligensetzer

2726 INDUSTRIALPIONEERS

President Donald Trump chose a massive steel mill in Granite City, Illinois, the centre of the US steel industry, to announce his new protec-tionist policies and trade tariffs to an audience of steel workers. Illinois Governor Bruce Vincent Rauner was absent. A Republican like Trump, he is no friend of trade wars, not least because many small and medium-sized companies from Germany have located to his state – and are doing well. One such company is Harting from Ostwestfalen. In the run-up to HANNOVER MESSE this spring Governor Rauner visited the company and talked with Dietmar Harting about the training of workers at the Harting US works in Elgin. Located close to Chicago, the works opened in the 1980s. Training and tech-nology are priorities for the Republican governor as both will help create jobs and generate tax revenue. Rauner is in dire need of both as his state is trailing behind other US states and state finances are stretched, not least due to massive pension fund debts. There has even been talk of bankruptcy. Trade war with China is another threat, and although Illinois has a lot of industry concentrated around Chicago, it is also one the biggest farming states in the US.

The first-ever HANNOVER MESSE held outside Germany could not come at a better time – it offers German companies an impor-tant communication platform and it is topical because President Trump’s remarks about the German export surplus are not an invention.

American innovations to a global audience and spotlight North America as an important manu-facturing location.”

HANNOVER MESSE USA comprised four exhibit zones – IAMD Integrated Automation, Motion & Drives USA, Comvac USA, Industrial Supply USA and Surface Technology USA – and three special displays. Germany, China, Italy, Korea and Taiwan had national pavilions. More than 500 companies showcased their products on a 12,000 m² display space. Several compa-nies, such as Lenze, SEW, SAP and the Fraun-hofer-Gesellschaft had not exhibited at these shows before, but there were plenty of regulars such as THK, Wittenstein, Festo, Phoenix Contact, Rittal, B&R, Mitsubishi and Hiwin. Harting understandably also exhibited in Chicago. After all, last year’s business report showed that company turnover in the Americas was up by about 22 percent to €73 million. Hart-ing’s goal: the development of sustainable scientif-ic and business partnerships and collaborations, not least with a US automobile maker, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC). The trade show could prove invaluable and serve as a perfect source for contacts.

The Solutions Theater – the HANNOVER MESSE Training and Networking Program – was a key part of the trade show concept. It included presentations, case studies, demonstra-tions and special events. The Manufacturing Leadership Council, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, the Industrial Internet Consortium and the German platform Industrie 4.0 jointly staged the one-day forum “Industrie 4.0 Meets the Industrial Internet of Things”. Topics such as TSN, cyber security and artificial intelligence in production made sure that for one week Chicago and Illinois were the centre of industry. ■

Actually the esteemed former head of the Federal Reserve Bank Ben Bernanke was one of many liberal commentators who drew attention to this imbalance and criticized it long before President Trump. In a video interview with this magazine, Dr. Michael Werz from the policy research and advocacy organization Center for American Progress pointed out: “Germany’s machinery and plant engineering companies need to put their case better. German companies are at a strategic disadvantage and the German position was not put clearly enough. They had no long-term strategy and did not involve enough players in society – not only in Washington, but also in other states“. The cutting-edge trade show this autumn offered a new opportunity.

HANNOVER MESSE USA coincides with the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS). Together the two events form the biggest manufacturing technology show in North America. More than 115,000 visitors participated in 2018.

“HANNOVER MESSE USA is based on the same format we use in Hannover, focusing not only on individual machines and compo-nents, but on complete solutions”, explains Dr. Jochen Köckler from Deutsche Messe AG. “The launch is in Chicago because we want to build on the reputation established by the US Partner Country engagement at HANNOVER MESSE in 2016. Chicago is the perfect place to showcase

26 27INDUSTRIALPIONEERS

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HANNOVER MESSE USAPREMIERE

IN THE USAThe first HANNOVER MESSE outside Germany took place in

Chicago in September 2018. Amidst the controversy over trade tariffs,

the aim is to promote free trade and cross-border technology trans-

fer. It is also a huge opportunity to bring the industry of tomorrow

to the heartland of America’s troubled steel industry.

29INDUSTRIALPIONEERS28 www.industrialpioneers.comwww.industrialpioneers.com28

The Munich-based Digital+Partners fund is committed to investing in young B2B enterprises, with special em-phasis on growth funding for industrial enterprises and financial service providers. Each company can receive up to €50 million. Digital+Partners is focusing on promising technology for the Internet of Things (IoT), data analytics and artificial intelligence. According to the fund managers, there is considerable potential among German start-ups. At the same time they report that growth finance is still under-developed in Germany. The shortfall is estimated at around €1 billion per year. Digital+Partners has attracted capital from institutional investors, high-tech enterprises, as well as tech-oriented family offices in Germany, Europe, the USA and Asia. In addition, the European Investment Fund (EIF) and the German investment bank KfW have contributed to the Digital+Partners fund. ■

DIGITAL FACTORY

Initiated at the beginning of 2018, the 5G Alli-ance for Connected Industries and Automation (5G-ACIA) is rapidly gaining in popularity. Eight new members have signed up since April 2018. The Alliance brings together represen-tatives of the automation and manufacturing sectors, plus leading ICT organizations. On the automation/manufacturing side the line-up now includes ABB, Audi, GHMT and MC Technolo-gies. The Alliance has also attracted two leading players from the ICT sector: Qualcomm and Rohde & Schwarz. The following scientific orga-nizations are now part of 5G-ACIA: the Korea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI) and the Technology Centre for Computing Technologies (TZI) at Bremen University. Major German industry associations such as VCI, VDA, VDMA and ZVEI favour the local assignment of 5G fre-quencies (3,700 – 3,800 MHz) to manufacturing enterprises. The aim is to auction off the regional frequencies on demand. The prices have yet to be announced. ■

IAMD

5G GAINING IN POPULARITY

RECORD-BREAKING WIND TURBINE In the spring of 2018 GE presented what it claimed to be world’s largest and most powerful offshore wind turbine: the Haliade-X. It can generate 45% more power than competing offshore installations (up to 67 GWh per year, enough for 16,000 European households). The Haliade-X 12 MW will be available for projects realized in the period after 2021. It is 260 m high and has a rotor diameter of 220 m. By comparison, the Commerzbank Tower in Frankfurt measures 259 m in height, and the Eifel Tower 324 m. The combination of a larger rotor, longer blades and a higher capacity factor ensures that the Haliade-X is less susceptible to wind-speed f luctua-tions. According to GE, this enhances predictability and increases the ability to deliver higher output at lower wind speeds. The capacity factor compares the actual output with the maximum potential output during continuous full-power operation over a specific period of time. ■

INTEGRATED ENERGY

DICTIONARY

Enginepreneur

An engineer who sets up his or her

own company. Our editorial team

found this term on a business card.

By 2020 more than three million industrial robots will be in operation in factories worldwide. This will represent a two-fold increase within seven years (2014-2020), reports the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). Almost 70 percent of employ-ees think that robotics and automation will offer an opportunity to move into skilled jobs demanding higher qualifications. This was the result of a worldwide survey of 7,000 workers in seven countries (published simultaneously with the IFR report). Technological change necessitates systematic initial and further training. One of the most advanced countries in this respect is Singapore with its SkillsFuture initiative, a project focussed on employers, who are asked what changes they expect in the coming three to five years and what training activities and additional qualifications will be required. ■

IAMD

NUMBER OF INDUSTRIAL ROBOTS EXPECTED TO DOUBLE BY 2020

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Digital project manager 255.5

E-health/healthcare IT 182.4

Artificial intelligence 127

Online journalism 117.6

3D printing 91.1

Robotics 86.4

Internet of Things 63.9

Digital transformation/Industrie 4.0 61.1

Digital finance/FinTech 46.9

Digital consulting 44.3

Cloud computing 43.1

VR/AR&MR 36.9

Analytics/Big Data 24.8

Social media/content marketing 15.5

Online marketing 13

E-commerce/online trading 5.4

GROWTH IN ADVERTISED DIGITAL JOBS Source: www.index.de, @Netzoekonom.de

Change 1st quarter of 2018 versus previous year

The data-based integration of every stage of the value chain is the decisive competitive factor in manufacturing. “Digital Factory” showcases the IT and software solutions which make it possible to transfer data between development, production and supply.

DIGITAL FACTORY – CONTACT US!Thomas Möller Tel. +49 511 89-31143

DIGITAL SERVICES

350 MILLION FOR INDUSTRIAL START-UPS

31INDUSTRIALPIONEERS30 www.industrialpioneers.com 3131333333333133333333333333131333333333333333331333333333333311113331333311111333333311111113331333333131131333333333333311113333331133333333333ININNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNINININININIINNNNNNNNNNNININNNNNNNNNNNNNNINNNNNNNNININNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNINIINIINNNNIINIININNNNNNNNNNNNNNINININNNNININNNNININNNNNNNNNNNNININIIINNNNNNINNNIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNINIININNINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNDUDDDDUDUDDUDUUUUUDDDUDDDUDUDUUDUUDUDUDUDUDUDDUDUDUDUDUDUDUDDUDUDDDDDDDDUUUDDDDDUDUDDDUUUDDDDDDDDDUDUUUUUDDDUDUUUUUDUDUDDUDUDDUUUUUUUUUDDUDUDUUUUUUDDDDDDUDDDUDDUDUDDDUUDDDDDUDUDUDDD SSTSTTTSTSSSSSSTTTTTTSTSTSTSSSTSTSSTTTTTSSTSSTSTSTTTSTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTSTTTTTSSSSSTTTSSSSSSTTTSSSSSSSTTTTSSSTSSTTTTSTSSSSSTSTTTSSTSTTTTSTSTTTSTSTTTSTSSTTRRIRIRIRIRIRIRIRRRRRRRRRRRIRRIRRIR ALALALALALALAALALALALALALALLALALLALAAALAAALLLLLAAAALPIPPIPIPIIIPIPIPPIPPIIPPPPPPIPIIIPPPPPPIIPIPIPIPIONONONONOOOOOOONONONONOONNNNNNONOONOOOOOOOOONONOONNNNNNNONOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNONONOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNONOOOOOONNNNNNNNNONOONONNONONNONNNONOOONOONNONOOOOOONONONOOOOONNOONONNONO EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRSSSSSRRRRSRRSSSSSRSRSRSRSSRRRSSSSRRSRSSSSRSRSSRSRS 31INDUSTRIALPIONEERS

In May Siemens announced that it is planning to invest €10 million in the Swedish battery specialist Northvolt. Siemens will act as a “tech-nology partner”. Other investors in Northvolt include Vattenfall, ABB and Scania. Siemens will take delivery of batteries from the North-volt factory following its completion in 2020. At the same time Siemens will make available its Digital Enterprise Portfolio. According to Northvolt’s founder Peter Carlsson, Siemens’ digital factory know-how will deliver a decisive competitive advantage versus Asian producers. Manager Magazin reports that ABB is supplying the necessary process and energy technology for the factory. By 2023 the factory will be capable of producing batteries with a total capacity of 32 GWh. With his new Scandinavian factory Carlsson is operating in direct competition with his former employer Tesla. ■

Although today’s electromagnetic valves and door locks react quickly, they have only two states: “Open” and “Closed”. When an electric current is applied to a door lock, the bolt is forced onto the strike plate. When the current is switched off, a spring-loaded mechanism returns the bolt to its original position. If additional functions are required – i.e. an intermediate valve position or the “soft” operation of the door bolt – this necessitates addition-al sensors and control systems, which inevitably means a rather complex and expensive undertaking. Professor Matthias Nienhaus and his team at the University of Saarland have come up with an innovative system that dispenses entirely with sensors, permits “soft” operation of the door bolt and moves the bolt to any desired position between “Open” and “Closed”.

The necessary information is derived solely from the drive current moving the bolt. To this end the current f luctuations within the winding are closely monitored over a certain period of time and evaluated, thus enabling the exact determination and control of the bolt position. The current f luctuations change according to the position of the bolt. The initial signals are very “noisy” and require pre-processing . Matthias Nienhaus and his team of researchers have developed a new, integrated process which “smooths” these signals. A patent application has already been filed for this innova-tive process. ■

INTEGRATED ENERGYRESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY

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DIGITAL SKID

Amazon warehouse robots start skid-

ding ... on butter! The butter had fallen

off a shelf, explained Amazon’s CTO

Tye Brady in a video interview prior to

a conference on industrial robots and

artificial intelligence.

SENSORLESS ELECTRIC CONTROL SYSTEM

BATTERIES MADE IN EUROPE

■ His parents were traditional storytellers.■ To improve his English he worked as a tour guide in his home

town Hangzhou.■ He received several rejections from universities in the USA. ■ He studied English. ■ In 1999, with an initial capital of $60,000, he founded

Alibaba together with his wife and 16 partners. ■ The name “Alibaba” occurred to him during a break in an

American street café. It is universally understood across different cultures.

■ He gives his staff Kung Fu nicknames. ■ He connects up Chinese manufacturers and western trading

partners. ■ He is creating an ecosystem around Alibaba. ■ As from 2019 MindSphere will be running on the Alibaba Cloud.

PROFILE

WHO IS JACK MA?

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Weighted world market share of Chinese exports (%) 1)

INDICATOR FOR THE COMPETITIVE PRESSURE EXERTED BY CHINA

1 China’s market shares of global goods exports in 230 categories, weighted according to the

respective countries’ market shares in these categories.

Source: UN Comtrade and own calculations.

Deutsche Bundesbank

GERMANY OTHER INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES

15 15

12 12

2004 2007 2010 2013 2016 2016

9 9

6 6

3 3

0 0

FR

IT

USJP

GERMAN CENTRAL BANK (DEUTSCHE BUNDESBANK): INCREASED COMPETITION FROM CHINA

Source: Federal Statistics Office and own calculations.

Deutsche Bundesbank

2010

Road vehicles and

automotive components

Machinery

Food products

Chemical products

Pharmaceuticals

and similar products

Data processing devices, electronic

and optical equipment

2017

SHARES OF SELECTED PRODUCT GROUPS

30

%

27

24

21

18

15

12

9

6

3

0

3332 www.industrialpioneers.com INDUSTRIALPIONEERS

Sweden aims high, not least with respect to technology and research, and notably in research into artificial intelligence. Now a Swedish start-up, Gavagai AB, is on the verge of a revolution-ary breakthrough. The company specializes in the analysis and translation of various languages using AI applications. Its founder, Jussi Karl-gren, explains that the goal, which it hopes to re-alize in collaboration with the Royal Institute of Technology, is to make the language of dolphins comprehensible to humans by 2021. This would seem like a tall order were it not for the spectac-ular progress that Sweden has made towards the energy transformation. Sweden is quite capable of achieving targets before the deadline.

In 2012 the Swedish and Norwegian govern-ments drew up a joint Renewable Energy Policy, agreeing to increase energy generation from renewables by 28.4 terawatt hours (TWh) by 2020. In fact, the Swedish parliament changed its own target in 2017, pledging to increase output from renewables by 18 TWh by 2030. A recent report from the World Economic Forum suggested that this target could conceivably be met by the end of 2018. Is Sweden the country in which the future is happening now? Many political commentators think this is the true appeal of the Swedish model. Could Sweden be “The next supermodel”? This description of the Nordic countries is not the creation of a mar-keting agency, but the title of a special report on

Scandinavia in the Economist in 2013. The EU Commission observed that the Swedish model seems better prepared for periods of crisis and that it is entirely possible for market mechanisms to work alongside a modern welfare state. Is this true or is it, as Bernd Henningsen from the Department of Northern European Studies in Berlin once critically observed, some collective wishful thinking in a Nordic utopia? The fact is that Sweden soon recovered from the economic shocks of the 1990’s and early 2000’s and has, for many years, not only topped the Innovations In-dex, but also achieved a good record with respect to introducing digitization and start-ups.

The Nordic countries also come out on top in a comparison of innovative development. Accord-ing to the 2018 EU Innovation Index Sweden is, in fact, the most innovative of the EU member states, followed by its neighbours Denmark and Finland. This lead position is by no means acci-dental but is underpinned by what EU commen-

tators have identified as Sweden’s outstandingly positive climate for innovation, excellent schools and vocational education, as well as a vibrant R&D sector. Importantly, SMEs have proven very adept at networking and successful in their research efforts.

Digitization, artificial intelligence and Industrie 4.0 are high up on the list of business priorities. Of course, digitization is extremely important in Sweden and – naturally – the country has made a lot of progress in this area. Sweden’s overall digital strategy is based on the development of a faster glass fibre network. As long ago as the 1990’s, an IT Commission set up by the Swedish government passed its first strategy paper aimed at the creation of an “information society for all”. Experts maintain that Sweden is now more than ten years ahead of Germany in digitization. It is envisaged that by 2020, 90 percent of all private households will have a minimum broad band connection speed of 100 Mbps (megabit per second). In 2013, more than 98 percent of all Swedish homes and workplaces already had 4G standard mobile phone network coverage.

In that same year the Production 2030 Initiative was launched with the goal of making Sweden a frontrunner in sustainable production by 2030, in particular through the introduction of digitization and Industrie 4.0 concepts. Research and innovation would therefore not simply target efficiency, but develop sustainability. It took Germany much longer to embrace this kind of holistic approach, whereas in Sweden it seemed obvious. For example, in 2017 Volvo Car was the first traditional automobile manufacturer to announce the electrification of its entire range of models by 2019. To this extent Volvo was meeting the targets outlined in the Production 2030 strategy to promote sustainable solutions in all areas of the economy, as well as in society at large. Although Volvo is now owned by the Chi-nese company Geely Cars, the European R&D centre remains in Sweden.

Steel production, biotechnology, environmental technology and medical technology rank among the other key industries in Sweden. In July 2018 Stockholm provided an important focal point for other future-oriented technologies as the world’s biggest conference for artificial intelligence IJCAI-ECAI-18 was held in the Swedish capital. It is not surprising, therefore, that the authors of a study carried out by Accenture predicted a 37

Sweden is the Partner Country at HANNOVER MESSE 2019. It was a logical choice

as Scandinavia, and Sweden in particular, has always occupied a leading place

in the international league for technological prowess, innovation and start-ups.

What do we associate Sweden with? A popular royal family, an even more popular

princess? Idyllic summers or Nordic crime stories? Or the “other” Sweden of famed

global brands such as IKEA, Spotify and Skype? Is this a model we should all be

emulating?

SWEDEN

EUROPE’S NEXT

SUPERMODEL OR HOW

TO SPEAK WITH DOLPHINS

AUTHORProf. Volker M. Banholzer, professor

for journalism (technology) and

communication at the Technical

University of Nuremberg. Prior to his

academic career he worked in the

area of communication at Siemens

and Baumüller.

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SUPERMODEL SWEDEN2017 saw a record number of new companies set up in Sweden. A total of over 1.2 billion US dollars was invested in 442 new enterprises. Many of them were software companies, especially in the health and finance sectors. The innova-tive ideas of these new companies have also proved of benefit to companies in the mechanical and plant engineering sectors, as well as industry in general. The map lists some of the start-ups, as well as several of Sweden’s big industrial companies and the most important research locations.

Volvo, GothenburgEricsson, StockholmAtlas Copco, StockholmSandvik, SandvikenSKF, GothenburgAssa Abloy, Stockholm

Northvolt, StockholmBehavioSec, LuleåSana Labs, StockholmImagimob, StockholmMapillary, Malmö

Uppsala University

Lund University

Stockholm University

Royal Technical University, Stockholm Umea University

Linköping University

Chalmers Technical University, Gothenburg

LULEÅ

UMEÅ

SWEDEN’S BIGGEST INDUSTRIAL COMPANIES

SWEDEN’S MOST EXCITINGSTART-UPS

SCIENCE AND RESEARCH

SANDVIKEN

UPPSALA

STOCKHOLM

LINKÖPING

GOTHENBURG

MALMÖTRELLEBORG

LUND

percent growth in productivity in Sweden by 2035 due to the use and development of artificial intelligence.

TRADITIONALLY EXPORT-ORIENTED While thinking about what appears to be a f lawless Swedish success story it is impossible to ignore the gathering clouds of protectionism. Lena Sellgren, chief economist at Business Sweden, the Swedish Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is concerned by this threat, not least because the economy is so dependent on global trade. Due to its small domestic market the country has always been forced to compete on the international marketplace and foreign trade has long been the bedrock of Sweden’s strong economy. On the plus side, Swedish companies are accustomed to the rough waters of market f luctuations, disruptive transfor-mations and the constant need to innovate. Nonetheless, the Swedish business sector and government must be watchful: despite impressive economic performance in recent years and good results in the second quarter of 2018, Swedish per capita GDP seems to be levelling off. Professor John Hassler from the Stockholm Institute for International Economic Studies attributes this to a rapid pop-ulation growth due to high levels of migration and high birth rates in recent years. Hassler and his colleagues expect some problems as the Swedish economy has long depended on the recovery of the euro area. Sellgren fears that while the record low in Swedish Re-ichsbank interest rates has supported the economy, there is a risk of the property market overheating.

INVESTING CONFIDENCE IN A UNIQUE SYSTEM FOR DRIVING INNOVATIONThe reputable Fraunhofer Institute IPT considers Sweden to be an ideal test market for innovation in Europe. The generally f lat organizational – less hierarchical – corporate structures, a f lexible work culture and a population attuned to technology are all seen as powerful factors in Sweden’s favour. Working methods tend to be more result-driven than process-based, which the Fraun-hofer experts feel affords a strong foundation for Industrie 4.0. In addition, the Swedes tend to see the broader picture and take a more holistic, forward-looking view, which is demonstrated by the country’s innovation strategy. In 2015 Sweden set up its Nation-al Innovation Council, which is chaired by the Prime Minister. Members of the government, employers’ organizations, trade un-ions and the research community work together on a comprehen-sive, long-term innovation strategy that covers all departments and interests. Measures will be taken to improve risk capital funding in addition to the introduction of an innovative public procurement system. The Council is committed to the bold objective of a new innovation strategy that will lead to the creation of jobs and secure the lowest rate of unemployment in the EU by 2020. Sweden is thus preparing itself for a knowledge-based society.

Sweden’s education system is geared to sustainability and the culture of innovation. Entrepreneurship and business skills are part of the school curricula, with the emphasis on creativity and a productive “error culture” that encourages the formulation and testing of ideas. Failure is permitted, as long as you keep trying. This approach nurtures the innovative spirit and start-up culture exemplified by businesses such as Spotify, Klarna or Skype. Swe-

den heads the World Bank Knowledge Economy Index, is among the top 10 on the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitive Index and among the top 5 on the Global Creativity Index based on creativity, technology, talent and tolerance.

Tolerance and social harmony characterize the Swedish model and define Sweden’s welfare state. Scientists and academics in the fields of economics, political science, sociology and innovation research agree that the success of Swedish society lies in the ability to find consensus and equilibrium. A high level of taxation is so-cially acceptable in Sweden because it is seen as a means to greater equality, commitment and social fairness. Swedish people exhibit a lot of confidence in state institutions and the media. This confi-dence is a firm basis for exploring the new and unknown.

DARING TO EXPERIMENTSweden is a society which readily accepts and tries out new tech-nology and innovations enthusiastically. In 1661 the Kingdom of Sweden introduced Europe’s first paper money. In 2019 Sweden is planning to test its own cryptocurrency, the e-Krona. Like the digital currency Bitcoin, the e-Krona will be based on blockchain technology. We can learn a lot from Sweden about digitization, the innovative spirit and export-driven enterprise, but also the under-standing that technology and society should not be viewed sepa-rately but as part of a whole. Trade visitors coming to Hannover in 2019 should take a good look at the Swedish exhibitors. Perhaps some will be surprised to find how many global players are from Sweden. This may explain why the New York stock exchange initially hoisted the Swiss f lag when Spotify had its stock market launch – and then, after some embarrassment, rectified the error. The AI researchers from Stockholm might therefore be hoping to establish Sweden’s name as a crucible of innovation and technolo-gy worldwide. Jussi Karlgren, founder of Gavagai AB, is not only interested in the linguistic and zoological value of deciphering how dolphins communicate. His vision goes further. He thinks that in future this achievement might facilitate communication with other forms of life in space. If Sweden really is the place where the future is happening today, we should take notice. ■

Watty, StockholmSnow Software, StockholmUniti, LundCellink, GothenburgDetectify, Stockholm

Autoliv, StockholmAlfa Laval, Lund

Hexagon, StockholmSSAB, StockholmTrelleborg, Trelleborg

10 MILLION INHABITANTS

2.3 % GDP GROWTH IN 2018

350,41 PATENT APPLICATIONS

PER ONE MILLION INHABITANTS

Source: Eurostat

3736 www.industrialpioneers.com INDUSTRIALPIONEERS

Visionary ideas such as those pioneered by the researchers in Lemgo lead directly to new business models. Research & Technology is a central meeting-place for experts from business and science. These experts give fascinating insights into the future of industry and unveil new solutions that are poised to enter practi-cal application. At Research & Technol-ogy you can find innovative solutions relevant to current and future applica-tions – everything from cognitive quality assurance systems to ground-breaking production methods. More than 700 ex-hibitors will present 1,500 products and create new opportunities for establishing international contacts.

This is your chance to enter into a dialogue with high-tech pioneers – for ex-ample, researchers from the Fraunhofer Society and the German Aerospace Re-search Centre, as well as representatives of universities and research organiza-tions from all over the world. The “tech transfer forum” is an annual highlight in Hall 2. The extensive forum program, the matchmaking stand “Technology & Business Cooperation Days” (organized by NBank) and “Ideas Day” (Friday, 5 April) offer extensive opportunities to tune into the latest trends in innovation management.

RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY –CONTACT US! Bernhard Spitzenberg +49 511 89-31319

No wires and extremely energy-

efficient. Mobile objects such as

this robot are ideally suitable for

Visible Light Communication.

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According to their blog the researchers are committed in the next 2-3 years to finding an elegant solution that overcomes the limita-tions of current radio-based technology. They envisage a situation in which humans, machines and products can communicate within factory buildings by means of light pulses. Conceivably, LiFi will supersede WiFi in the factory of the future. The time is ripe for such a solution. WiFi and Bluetooth have limited band-widths. According to the researchers this does not pose a problem in private homes due to the limited number of connected devices. By contrast, in a production plant hundreds of sensors, actuators and other systems have to be integrated. In practical applications the maximum number of devices is limited to around 15 – beyond this there is too much mutual interference. In addition, wireless LAN systems suffer from a limited range due to the presence of walls, machines, metal objects and electromagnetic interference. This can result in unreliable communication.

The Fraunhofer researchers have therefore decided to exploit the potential of the light spectrum, which is 4,800 times greater than the available radio frequency spectrum. Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences is involved in the project. Profes-sor Oliver Stübbe is excited at the prospect of getting involved

and emphasizes: “This will enhance our scientific excellence in Lemgo and underline the first-rate working relationship between Ostwestfalen-Lippe University and the Fraunhofer Institute in Lemgo. The list of project partners testifies to the high degree of interest among SMEs and major industrial enterprises.” Who these industrial partners are has not been disclosed. Having said this, numerous industrial companies are active in the area of VLC.

Last year these companies got together in Paris. Both Osram and Nokia are interested in this new technology. Wieland Electric presented a VLC solution for the retailing sector. Together with software partners and lighting equipment manufacturers, Wieland has developed a complete package consisting of LED lighting units, software and data access points. A small ceiling-mounted distributor box contains all the necessary hardware (router, power supply and PoE switch). According to Wieland engineers, this VLC solution is quick and easy to install in retail applications.

The next step will be to transfer VLC to factory applications. This will be of interest to BMW. The carmaker recently completed a three-year trial of an LED-based data communication system for inspection robots. The results have been published in the US

Sometimes people have the best brainwaves while sitting at home in front of the

television. When we press a button on the remote control it sends an invisible infrared

signal to the TV set and we get the program we want. In most cases the light source

is an LED. Researchers at the Lemgo-based Fraunhofer Research Institute (IOSB-INA)

and various industrial enterprises have teamed up with the goal of realizing Visible Light

Communication (VLC) in the manufacturing sector.

trade magazine “LEDs”. After various modifications (e.g. the deployment of infra-red LEDs instead of visible-light LEDs) the system performed remarkably well, but is not yet ready for “primetime” application. In connection with this project BMW teamed up with the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute.

The overall goal is to use existing lighting systems for communication purposes, thus eliminating the need for additional infrastructure and energy consumption. Initially the Lemgo-based researchers will work with the industrial partners in order to analyze the technical challenges (extraneous light, shadowing, the speed of moving objects, the size of the factory premises). This will provide the basis for developing customized solutions which can be grafted onto the existing infrastructure. Reliabili-ty is a key priority in Visible Light Communication (VLC).

“Ultimately, we will have a communication system that can be deployed throughout the production sector and that can connect up more than 1,000 devices at a single location,” explains project initiator Daniel Schneider, a specialist in smart sensor systems. “We will have approximately 1 GB of bandwidth, plus resistance to electro-magnetic interference, wiretapping and external inf luences. And we use the energy that is already deployed for the existing lighting units.” ■

TECHNOLOGY AND BUSINESS

COMMUNICATION LIFI INSTEAD OF WIFI?

3938 www.industrialpioneers.com INDUSTRIALPIONEERS

The smart factory will remain a pipedream without sophisticated compressed air and vacuum technology. This applies equally to factory automation and environmental engineering applications. Compressed air and vacuum technology provides the key to sustainability and energy efficiency. At ComVac more than 280 exhibitors present approx. 950 products, systems and services to around 29,000 visitors. To an increasing extent, manufacturers of compressors and vacuum pumps are becoming full-service providers. This is ref lected in the exhibit line-up at ComVac. The trade show covers all aspects of vacuum and compressed air technology. This is your chance to present your innovations, live and in action: speed controlled vacuum pumps and compressors, oil-free compressed air systems, advanced leak detection devices and many more be-sides. ComVac attracts all the major players in the industry. HANNOVER MESSE as a whole is home to a unique line-up of potential compressed-air and vacuum-equipment users.

COMVAC – CONTACT US!Mark Decker +49 511 89-31127

The focus is on the HST compressor. Boge continuously monitors operational data and identifies scope for improvements – for example, lower energy con-sumption or an extended service life. With the help of sophisticated data anal-ysis tools the Boge engineers are in a position to develop new components and software updates that are tailored exactly to the requirements of its customers. In other words, Boge is committed to continuous product improvement. Thanks to the modular design of the HST compressor, components can be exchanged very quickly. Industrial customers do not have to pay anything for the hard-

ware improvements and software updates. Instead, Boge and the customer share the savings achieved over a predefined period of time. The investment risk resides almost entirely with Boge.

“Our high-speed turbo compressor is the answer to the increasing demand for customized solutions and optimum energy efficiency,” explains Thorsten Meier, Man-aging Director of Boge, a family-owned enterprise. “To streamline the fabrication and assembly of our innovative machine concept we have adapted ground-breaking production technology to our require-ments.” Boge’s smart factory is modelled on the SmartFactoryOWL, where prototypes are tested and new processes developed. In the course of just one year Boge reconfig-ured part of its production infrastructure at its main site in Bielefeld-Jöllenbeck. The combination of digitization, automa-

tion and craft skills provides the basis for manufacturing the HST compressors – reliably, in a number of different versions and irrespective of the experience of the assembly workers. A digital assistance system facilitates the rapid learning and ergonomic execution of complex assembly steps. Each component “knows” its particular characteristics and requirements. On the basis of the individual component codes the assistance system projects step-by-step instructions within the assembly worker’s field of vision. A pick-to-light function ensures the easy selection of the necessary components from a modular array. The relevant parameters are derived directly from Boge’s ERP system. This smart production concept ensures the seamless traceability of the key performance indicators of each individual compressor. An Andon board indicates the current status of the assembly lines. The smart factory is undergoing continuous evolution. The principles established here will soon be applied to other product lines.

Boge has teamed up with another local champion – Weidmüller – to develop a predictive maintenance software for the HST compressors. On the basis of a complex data model this software predicts changes before these actually happen, thus allowing the operator to intervene appropriately. According to its inventors, this self-learning system becomes more and more precise over time. At HANNOVER MESSE 2018 Weidmüller presented the Boge HST 220 com-pressor live and in action. As soon as there is a change in the compressor’s oper-

On the basis of the individual component codes

the assistance system projects step-by-step

instructions and information within the assembly

worker’s field of vision.

The end-to-end digitization in smart factories ensures that all the relevant data is logged.

This, in turn, ensures that components are closely monitored as they progress through each processing step.

Boge has invested around €2 million in smart production technology at its

Bielefeld plant. In line with a new business model the company aims to adapt

its compressors to individual customer requirements.

ating parameters, the software generates an anomaly warning message. For demonstration purposes at the trade show, the compressor cooling system was manipulated in order to simulate a problem with the motor. All the relevant data were displayed instanta-neously in the application. Weidmüller’s predictive maintenance software is the ideal complement to the Boge Analytics service portfolio. Boge and Weid-müller, two SMEs from East Westphalia, are making a decisive contribution to the future of compressed air technology. ■

CROSS-OVER TECHNOLOGYFOR PRODUCTION

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COMPRESSORSNEW TECHNOLOGY

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BUSINESS MODEL

4140 www.industrialpioneers.com INDUSTRIALPIONEERS

Components suppliers are a driving force be-hind the digitization of industry. A smart fac-tory is only as intelligent as its constituent com-ponents and systems. To an ever increasing extent suppliers and their innovative solutions are being integrated into their customers’ value chains – also with regard to digital technology. Materials, processes and hot topics such as lightweight design will be on the agenda at the trade fair “Industrial Supply”. An impressive line-up of suppliers and subcontractors will demonstrate their capabilities as development partners. You, too, can be part of this line-up consisting of approx. 1,800 exhibitors and more than 5,700 products.

New materials figure prominently at “Indus-trial Supply” – for example, smart adhesives. Additive manufacturing and 3D printing are revolutionizing industrial production, while lightweight design is opening up new possi-bilities for engineers. All this and much more besides will be on display at HANNOVER MESSE.

INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY – CONTACT US!Weert-Ellen de RieseTel. +49 511 89-31135

Skylar Tibbits is the pioneer behind 4D printing. Whereas most companies do not even have a 3D printer at their disposal, this American scientist has opened up a whole new perspective. He is employed by the Self-Assembly Lab at the Mas-sachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He and his colleagues have set themselves the goal of ad-ding a fourth dimension. 4D printing provides the key to creating self-assembling objects, i.e. objects whose shape is modified subsequently by means of external triggers (for example, a magnetic field, sound waves, chemical reactions, vibration and heat). The materials are self-regulating, thus eliminating the need for an external power supply or a control system. Tibbits has a well-established working relationship with the printer manufac-turers Stratasys and Autodesk.

Not only in the USA are scientists working on the fourth dimension. 4D additive manufactu-ring is also on the agenda at Zurich Technical University (ETH), where researchers have achieved a major breakthrough in the area of shape configuration.

The team includes Kristina Shea, Head of the Engineering Design and Computing Laboratory. The researchers created a design principle which enables modifications in shape to be precisely monitored. In a recent press release Tian Chen, a doctoral student in Shea’s group wrote: “Our

Materials that can adapt to changing environmental conditions – this is the idea

behind 4D printing. Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

have been working in this area for some time. In Europe, meanwhile, a research

team at ETH Zurich has made a major breakthrough.

f lat structures do not change at random, but in an exactly planned way.” In addition, these structures can withstand loads. Such robust 4D-printed objects would have been impossible without the prior research efforts at the university.

The core element is a specially designed lifting element which exists in one of two states: exten-ded or retracted. These elements can be combined to create com-plex three-dimensional struc-tures whose final configuration is predictable. Structures which can have several different stable shapes are also possible. With the aid of a special simulation software the researchers can de-termine in advance which forces need to be applied to achieve modifications of the shape. This serves as a useful design tool.

“4D printing offers several benefits,” Shea explains. “Prin-ting a f lat shape with fixed and moveable segments in a single operation is extremely efficient.

On the other hand it is much more complicated and time-consuming to create such objects three-dimensionally or to assemble them from several separate components.” What is more, f lat structures are easily transportable as they acquire their final shape only at their inten-ded destination. Such a space-saving approach is used for trans-porting tools into the Earth’s orbit.

Space travel is one of many po-tential applications for 4D prin-ting. The researchers are also thinking in terms of building installations (e.g. ventilation components and pipe systems which automatically adjust their f low rates in line with changing environmental conditions).

The market research organization Gartner has defined 4D printing as one of the most important fu-ture innovations, alongside smart robots and artificial intelligence. However, it will take about ten years until 4D printing becomes a mainstream technology, the analysts say. ■

EQUAL PARTNERS

3D printing is still

in its infancy, but

research is already

progressing on 4D

applications.

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Albert Groz and his colleagues from TruPhysics certainly knew how to catch the eye of trade visitors with their stand. A cocktail mixing robot proved popular, not only among the big robot constructors. Stuttgart-based TruPhysics exhib-ited for the first time at HANNOVER MESSE, together with DXC Technology. For company

founder Groz it was a hectic week at the trade show as he was not there simply to meet custom-ers and investors, but also answered questions in a livestream interview. “The sheer dimensions of the trade fair and the many parties at the stands are a lasting memory”, explains Groz. As the en-trepreneur, who was looking for industrial clients, reported with a grin: “We made the most and the best contacts at the parties.” TruPhysics was set up in 2014 as an initiative that emerged from the Institute for Automation and Software Technol-ogy at Stuttgart University. Today, Albert Groz works with seven colleagues on some exciting VR simulation technology. The future, he says, lies in VR engineering.

“Of course, VR engineering goes a step further than what many VR studios and designers offer”, stressed Groz in a video interview with this

magazine. “Other studios simply deliver finished images, whereas,” he added confidently, “in our case the operative or process planners create the factory environment themselves.” He has every reason to sound confident. According to the TruPhysics website, the company already boasts clients such as Porsche, Daimler, Festo, measure-ment and analysis specialists Faro, the surgical instrument company Aesculap, its partner B. Braun and Schunk, the global leader in gripper systems based in Lauffen am Neckar.

Groz was able to find his core target groups in Hannover, proudly reporting: “We made many contacts among potential investors and custom-ers. We even finished some projects at the show, while others are still in progress.”

Describing the company product in the interview, Groz said: “We realized it was important to de-velop a tool for consultants or industrial users in order to ensure that factory and process planning and the simulation of material f low is fast, precise and realistic.” What makes the solution special is that Groz and his team have 3D models of Kuka and Universal Robots stored in the data-base. As Groz explains: “We don’t only have 3D models. We offer cinematic VR, which facilitates accessibility studies in a 3D environment.” Thus the VR user can program the robots and export the paths into real-time controls or cycles. “Our solution is not a design studio, but the Proof of Concept.”

He wants to exhibit this proof at HANNOVER MESSE 2019. “We hope there will be more focus on cooperation with big companies and that we can exhibit together with them at the same stand.” So what does he think needs improving in the Startup Area in 2019? “I would like to see more scope for cooperation between the young companies there and the big names in the indus-try, as well as better catering.” ■

“ Our solution is not a design studio,but the Proof of Concept.”

– Albert Groz

Albert Groz (4th left)

and team: next year

they hope to exhibit

together with some

big companies.

Germany needs new entrepreneurs – especially in the B2B area or

manufacturing industry. An order or restaurant app will not help

mechanical engineering firms with digitization. HANNOVER MESSE

offers young businesses the opportunity to present their ideas.

TruPhysics took advantage of the offer.

EXHIBITORS NEWCOMERS

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H A N N O V E R M E S S E

H O M E O F I N D U S T R I A LP I O N E E R S1 – 5 April 2019

Hannover ▪ Germany

hannovermesse.com

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