Under the motto "Bring Value to Data", many industrial companies from the manufacturing, process and automotive industries once again responded to Microsoft'scall and submitted their applications for the award. They were looking for use cases from the operational area for the factory of the future: innovative digital solutions that drive the change in the manufacturing industry towards Industry 4.0. The award recognizes thought leaders who are shaping the future of industry with their ideas and solutions.

The overall winner

Artificial intelligence can be used to detect anomalies and establish correlations across production steps.

© Dürr Systems

The overall winner was Dürr Systems: the company from Bietigheim-Bissingen was able to secure the overall victory through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in industrial production systems. With its DXQanalyze solution, production data can be evaluated at both machine and factory level in order to detect anomalies and establish correlations across numerous production steps. This makes it possible to prevent machine downtimes and reduce waste, as demonstrated by the example of large paint shops for car manufacturers. In combination with historical data and machine learning, the aim is to detect previously unknown sources of error and derive optimization measures for production operations. Dürr is thus offering one of the first market-ready solutions with AI that is capable of increasing the overall plant efficiency of paint shops.

Winner of the Scale category!

The standardized digital twin at Wittenstein simplifies information procurement in production and can be used in all areas of the manufacturing industry.

© Wittenstein SE

The winner of the "Scale!" category is Wittenstein SE from Igersheim with its partner Xitaso. They won the prize for their application of the Asset Administration Shell as a standardized digital twin that connects physical industrial products with the digital world. In smart factories, process improvements, efficiency gains and value creation potential can be realized in this way. The digital twin enables automated parameterization of digital services in common platforms and gateways for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) because it is based on open standards and standardized interfaces. This means it can be interoperably integrated into production systems worldwide and greatly simplifies the procurement of information in production. The standardized digital twin wins in the Scale! category because it has great growth potential and can be used in all areas of the manufacturing industry. It will be further developed in the Industrial Digital Twin Association e. V., which Wittenstein helped to establish as a founding member at the end of 2020.

Winner of the Add Value category!

The digital twin for Integrated Asset Performance Management from Bosch is designed to simplify complex automation projects.

© Bosch

A digital twin also won in the "Add Value!" category: the award went to Robert Bosch and its digital twin for Integrated Asset Performance Management (IAPM), which allows machines to communicate independently: Instead of simply continuing to run until failures occur, the machines send timely emergency signals to staff when certain error symptoms occur. Hidden inefficiencies and malfunctions are thus detected more quickly, allowing restrictions and bottlenecks to be avoided through purely digital interventions in production. The new solution runs on Microsoft Azure and simplifies complex automation projects by collecting machine-generated data and helping customers to operate their production environment in a cost- or efficiency-optimized way. This creates an ecosystem in which all employees in the company are empowered to make data-driven business decisions.

Winner of the Envision!

With BMW's Edge Ecosystem, any end device can be converted into a compatible Edge device.

© BMW Group

The BMW Group wins the prize in the "Envision!" category: with its Edge Ecosystem, any end devices can be converted into compatible edge devices. The so-called "zero-touch installation" allows them to be provisioned fully automatically. The Edge Store then enables standardized global software distribution to the devices in self-service. This means that no IT experience is required to use the latest technologies such as container, edge and cloud computing in production.

The BMW Group Edge Ecosystem makes it possible to manage decentralized, globally distributed devices and to install and configure applications within seconds. This serves to improve quality and ensure global software standardization. The Edge Ecosystem thus reduces the effort involved in managing thousands of devices and enables the simple, global rollout of updates and innovations. This avoids unexpected production interruptions and reduces maintenance costs. The BMW Group has been using the system internally to date. However, it is also available to external partners and suppliers who want to integrate their hardware and software into the BMW Group Edge Ecosystem easily and without customization.

An overview of all award winners, finalists and the jury with leading experts from business and science can be found here: www.MIMAwinners2021.com/.