In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, Jochen Koeckler, chairman of the Managing Board of Deutsche Messe AG, said the industry is faced with challenges including climate change, the scarcity of energy, high energy prices, and the lack of workers in the factories.
However, "we have solutions here," he said, adding that this year's trade fair has offered two answers to the future, namely digitalization of the industry and sustainability.
Hannover Messe 2023 opened on Monday on the theme of industrial transformation. Industrial players from mechanical engineering, electrical, digital, and energy sectors gather in Hannover to showcase how high-tech and innovative solutions help overcome global industrial challenges.
AI COMING INTO REALITY
Artificial intelligence (AI) is now "more than a trend," Sebastian Schrof, a bionic expert from German industrial automation company Festo, told Xinhua, deeming it "already a standard."
This year, Festo brought its biomass cultivation system to the exhibition, which uses automation technology to cultivate algae on a large scale. The harvested algae cells can be further processed, and the biomass obtained can be used in the chemical, food, or pharmaceutical industries.
In this system, Festo uses AI to analyze live pictures of cells.
"AI is a software tool or an algorithm that helps us optimize the growth of algae," said Eberhard Klotz, Festo's global sales director on Industry 4.0 and AI. "It is also for sure a very great software tool that helps us optimize industrial processes."
AI is the next step of digitalization, Koeckler said, stressing the role of AI technologies in helping people make better use of the existing data and simplifying the communication process between humans and manufacturing devices.
"It makes the work easier, quicker, and more productive," he said.
In Hannover, Google also presented its solution to use AI and visual inspection to identify individual components and check if there are any anomalies or defects.
Google invested a lot in this technology and uses it in the hardware production process, said Michael Menzel, AI and machine learning specialist from Google. "That is very helpful if you can automate this step."
INDUSTRY DECARBONIZING
Slogans of "lower carbon emissions," and "saving more energy" were frequently mentioned at the trade fair, becoming a major selling point for products and technologies.
At the booth of German plastics processing and manufacturing company igus, a recycling project named Chainge offers customers easier access to a circular economy. It recycles end-of-life engineering plastics and puts the plastic recyclables into the production line again.
The company started the project three years ago and it was well received by the customers.
To achieve a more sustainable industry, "the material is a key factor for us," said Lena Naumann from igus, head of the plastic recycling business unit.
At the moment, recycled materials are more expensive than new ones, which makes it difficult for companies to choose them over cheaper options, said Naumann. "But we see that lots of companies are getting to the switch point of 'we have to do something for more sustainable production.'"
Other industrial solution providers including Siemens, Schneider Electric, and China's Haier Group have all been advancing their technologies to make industrial production more efficient and sustainable with less carbon emission.
EMERGING INDUSTRY 4.0
The term Industry 4.0 was introduced at Hannover Messe more than 10 years ago.
According to the organizer, the concept today is still all about networked machines, sensor technology, data and information, and new business models. In addition, it is also about a more open-source and inclusive way of thinking in the industry.
"Industry 4.0 describes a decade of development," Koeckler said, referring to the term as "a kickoff to connect the components in a factory."
With the data collected during the past decade and technologies such as AI, the industry today is able to use the data to identify production mistakes and put into use predictive maintenance.
For the future of Industry 4.0, Koeckler perceived the cross-sectoral initiative "Manufacturing-X" as an important factor.
According to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action of Germany, the initiative, by establishing a data ecosystem, aims to allow companies to autonomously and jointly use data across the entire production and supply chain.
Leading companies in the Industry 4.0 community have already set out with their associations and networks to jointly implement "Manufacturing-X," according to the Machinery and Equipment Manufacturers Association of Germany.
"Industry 4.0 is an era, and 'Manufacturing-X' is a period for the next years to organize data exchanges," said Koeckler.
Latest comments