Smart Factory KL Shows Autonomous Production

2023 Author : Hannah Pearcy | [email protected] . Last modified: 2023-05-24 11:12

The Smart-Factory-KL technology initiative formulated the term “Production Level 4” for the first time last year - the autonomous production of the future. It should be the further development of Industry 4.0. To clarify what this production could look like, eleven companies have developed a demonstrator together with two research institutions.

Production Level 4 focuses on people, IT and automation alike, according to the initiative. It would not make sense for people to think apart from autonomous production, because the diverse and creative skills of a person will never be acquired by machines or AI methods. This includes things like empathy, morality or the idea of space and time. Production Level 4 means the consistent further development of Industry 4.0.

Martin Ruskowski, CEO of the Smart Factory KL

How the demonstrator works

The initiative has developed a modular system architecture for its demonstrator that is scalable and expandable. In the manufacturer-independent ecosystem, modules should be exchangeable without any problems. The demonstrator should be fully developed in five years and be able to display Production Level 4 - until then the initiative will continue to develop it annually and will show its progress at the Hanover Fair.

The use case: what the demonstrator has been able to do so far

At the Hanover Fair 2020, the Smart Factory KL shows what it has achieved so far. This year she is showing a new production system for individual USB sticks in the form of Lego bricks at the fair. The USB stick serves only as an example, the focus is rather on the manufacture and differentiation of products using the software. The individual production steps can be transferred to all possible applications.

And this is how it works: The visitor can configure an individual USB stick on a touchscreen. Once the order has been placed, the order is processed. The building blocks are assembled in the first production module. If the customer wants to save a product image on his USB stick, the second station is a quality control module.

The data is then refueled in a third production module and then another quality control with a camera and AI applications in the fourth production module. The quality controls compare the order with the built-in USB memory stick. Then the output takes place. The production modules are grouped around a central conveyor system. It transports the product from one module to the next.

It is also planned to link the use case with the new EU cloud service Gaia X. You can also watch the demonstrator interactively. The demonstrator can be found in Hall 8, Stand D18.

The companies and research institutions involved are:

• B&R
• German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI)
• Empolis Information Management
• Eplan
• German Edge Cloud
• Harting
• IBM
• Huawei
• Minitec Smart Solutions
• Proalpha Business Solutions
• Technology initiative Smart Factory KL eV
• MOT South
• mushroom