The topic of networked production and logistics is now taking on an increasingly important role in the automotive industry in particular.
The machines will in future receive the information they need on the components that they need to process via the Internet of Things. This will allow the smart factory to organize itself autonomously, so that it can manufacture its products as quickly and efficiently as its capacity allows. The upshot of all this is that components and robots will in future whisper to each other and pass information on their own state back to both humans and machines.
A total of about 150 decision-makers representing car makers, automotive suppliers and the scientific community will today be discussing how Industry 4.0 is set to secure the competitiveness of the global automotive industry at the Hannover Messe.
"The continuous flow of data provides the basis for the intelligent networking of the old and the new world", declares Christian Will, manager of the main department for production development at Porsche AG, addressing the the Automotive IT Forum at the trade fair's Forum Produktion & Logistik. An important consideration for all developers, he tells us, is for example that they should be able to access platforms without encountering discontinuities. The way that manual and digital processes are combined on the factory floor also has to be smart, he adds. "Digitization gives us the extra flexibility that we need in our manufacturing plants to be able to produce the various types of vehicles we need to make", says Will.
"The ability of exchange large amounts of data quickly and securely and to interpret the right parameters are decisive factors in ensuring that all the required information is available in the right structure at the right time and place. Without the cloud, advanced networks, big data and security technology there can be no Industry 4.0", Helena Jochberber, Senior Expert for predictive maintenance and the smart factory, tells us.
Deutsche Telekom is now presenting its digital toolbox at the Hannover Messe. Solutions for a variety of smart factory applications will be on display at the Deutsche Telekom booth at the fair.
