Press releases on the ICNAP

In early December members of the research community "International Center for Networked, Adaptive Production ICNAP" gathered in Aachen for the Annual Meeting. As a result of the two-day meeting, the participants chose five new research topics and participated in an intensive professional and personal exchange about the research work of the past year.

How can existing production processes be redesigned and optimized by using digital methods? When is it worthwhile for companies to intervene in such processes and change them using digital technologies? The "International Center for Networked, Adaptive Production ICNAP", a consortium of three Fraunhofer Institutes from Aachen, presents current research results on digitalization in industry in a recently published study report. The report summarizes practical research on the use of artificial intelligence in production, machine-integrated real-time communication based on 5G networks and the monetization of industrial data; and is now available for free download.

Digital networking of machines and systems offers enormous opportunities to make production chains more efficient, flexible and sustainable. However, small and medium-sized manufacturing companies are uncertain about which specific information technology solutions are suitable for their production environment and what benefits they actually obtain. The "International Center for Networked, Adaptive Production ICNAP", a consortium of three Fraunhofer Institutes in Aachen, is now providing a digital service portal for interested companies, offering them the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the benefits of a digital toolbox for networked, adaptive production. As of now, services such as an NC data analysis or an assistance system for the targeted selection of machine learning algorithms can be tested free of charge.

How is a digital twin generated from machine data? How can companies apply the new 5G mobile communications standard in their production? What software is required to power the Industrial Internet of Things? These are the questions currently being addressed by the three Aachen-based Fraunhofer Institutes in collaboration with 15 partners from industry who have joined their new research community in the International Center for Networked Adaptive Production, known as ICNAP. In the course of their first annual meeting, the ICNAP partners ranked these three subject areas as being in particularly urgent need of attention and selected them to be the focus of research and development projects in the coming year. It is anticipated that by the end of the year 2019, these will have been fully explored in three separate studies.

Sensors continuously record measurements in plant and machinery to check that everything is running according to plan and to enable any errors in the industrial production environment to be recognized at an early stage. However, as a rule, evaluation of the data is decentralized and takes place after a time lag. In contrast to this, the 5G wireless standard permits direct, wireless measurement in real time. Fraunhofer in Aachen has teamed up with Ericsson to offer a unique test environment for 5G applications in industry. The partners will be using the example of aero-engine component manufacture to demonstrate live, for the first time, the opportunities provided by the technology at the Hanover Fair from 23– 27 April 2018 (Hall 17, Booth C24).

Researchers from three Aachen-based Fraunhofer Institutes are working together in the Fraunhofer High Performance Center for Networked, Adaptive Production to realize the complete connectivity of machines and sensors with the goal of evaluating all recorded production data with intelligent algorithms in real time and flexibly adapting processes accordingly. At the Hannover Messe Preview on February 6 and at the Hannover Messe proper from April 23 to 27, 2018, they will demonstrate what diagnostic and forecasting possibilities this yields for the manufacture of demanding products for various sectors.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT and Ericsson announce their collaboration in exploring use cases for 5G in the manufacturing environment.