Industrial Intelligence - this is the theme of this year's Hannover Messe. Dr. Jochen Köckler, Chairman and CEO of Deutsche Messe AG, emphasizes the special nature of the event in the run-up to the event: "The trade fair is the only platform in the world where the components and systems of mechanical and plant engineering and electrical engineering merge with the digital technologies of software and IT companies." He points out that industrial companies are increasingly making use of digital technologies. "Machine learning and artificial intelligence play a key role in this." They can be used to link data from different sources, predict errors and solve problems. "Artificial intelligence has the potential to revolutionize the industry," Köckler is convinced and is pleased that "more than 100 concrete application examples for machine learning will be on display during the five days of the trade fair." On display will be robots that independently solve tasks in the factory and pass on their knowledge to other machines. Or AI systems that provide detailed instructions for repair work and assist the technician in carrying it out.

The future of work

Under the guiding theme of 'Industrial Intelligence', however, the organizers want to cover more than just smart technologies: The trade fair is therefore also dedicated to the collaboration between man and machine. The new 'Future of Work in Industry' congress is intended to make a contribution to this. On Wednesday 3 April, around 300 experts and managers from industry will come together to discuss the effects of digitalization on qualifications and the organization of work - including philosopher and author Richard David Precht, Siemens HR manager Janina Kugel and 'human cyborg' Ralf Neuhäuser.

5G for the industry

But 5G will also be a key topic at the Hannover Messe. From 2020, the new 5G mobile communications standard in Germany will lay the foundation for the comprehensive digitalization of the economy and society. 5G will be an important milestone for industry in particular, as it will make future technologies such as machine learning in production and autonomous driving ready for use. Köckler: "5G will enable industry to leverage the full potential of Industry 4.0." Hall 16 will show exactly what this could look like with a glimpse into the 5G future. Together with network supplier Nokia, the '5G Arena' will be set up - a 5G test field where the first applications can be seen. At the same time, the 5G Arena will serve as a contact point for all industry questions relating to the future mobile communications standard. Experts will be available for discussions and the state of Lower Saxony will hold its user conference on site.

With regard to digitalization, new software and IT developments are particularly crucial for companies in the manufacturing industry. This is exactly what the Digital Factory area in Halls 5 to 8 is all about. The top topics include artificial intelligence and platform economies as well as hybrid clouds, augmented and virtual reality, 5G, blockchain, digital twin and ERP and MES systems.

New software and IT developments

Platform providers and software houses such as AmazonWeb Services, Atos, Dassault Systems, EPLAN, Huawei, IBM, Konica Minolta, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, Siemens PLM and Software AG have already taken part. In total, more than 600 exhibitors will be showcasing their solutions for integrated processes for industrial applications.

The Hanoverians also want to provide an answer to the question of what comes after Industry 4.0.

Industrial Pioneers Summit

The Industrial Pioneers Summit will take place for the first time on the Tuesday of the trade fair. Digitalization, AI, human-machine collaboration and platform economy will be discussed there. The focus will be on topics such as augmented reality, the new 5G network standard and innovative transport solutions, such as the use of hyperloop technologies. Thought leaders and innovation drivers from industry, politics, business, science and society are invited. The aim is to exchange findings, opinions and theories on developments and scenarios in order to jointly arrive at a vision for the year 2025.

AI and TSN in use

© SmartFactory-KL

With a new infrastructure concept, the SmartFactory-KL partner consortium is demonstrating a scalable solution that is suitable for industrial intelligence applications. The use of TSN in data exchange between infrastructure and server also ensures transmission quality.

The infrastructure nodes of the new star-shaped, scalable concept support independent production islands with several modules. "With this solution, we are taking the next step towards the practical introduction of a standardized module interface. This allows a production system to be reconfigured quickly and flexibly," says Prof. Dr. Martin Ruskowski, head of the Innovative Factory Systems research department at DFKI.

These nodes now provide computing power via edge computing for industrial intelligence applications. An exemplary application for edge computing in the infrastructure box is the display of consumption data from the individual modules directly on the box. Another new feature is that data transmission between the infrastructure and server is implemented using real-time technology TSN (Time-Sensitive Networking). TSN guarantees, for example, that safety-critical data is sent with the highest priority and arrives even when the network is under heavy load. "TSN makes an important contribution to both horizontal and vertical integration. Furthermore, OPC UA in combination with TSN enables manufacturer independence at the data transmission level. This means that any sensors and actuators can send and receive data in real time and existing systems can be flexibly retrofitted. The previous proprietary fieldbuses are no longer an obstacle," says Prof. Dr. Detlef Zühlke, CEO of SmartFactory-KL, summarizing the advantages for the industry.