Networked, Adaptive Production

To find out which new approaches in information technology can lead the way towards Industrie 4.0 and which requirements must be met, is the aim of the three Aachen-based Fraunhofer Institutes for Production Technology IPT, for Laser Technology ILT and for Molecular Biology and Applies Ecology IME, who are cooperating with renowned industrial partners in the International Center for Networked, Adaptive Produktion (ICNAP).

The ICNAP was established through a joint initiative of the government in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft with active support from German industry. Founded in late 2016 as the Fraunhofer High-Performance Center for “Networked, Adaptive Production” in Aachen, it was provided with a three-year budget of 6.4 million euros with a view to designing an open research platform and industrial test environment in which innovative approaches of digital production could be developed and evaluated under realistic conditions. Several leading IT system providers, equipment manufacturers and industrial corporations have already committed themselves to the future of the joint venture.