OEM & Lieferant - Ausgabe 1/2021

80 Over-instrumentation is thus only a merely functional method to identify the parame- ters responsible for particular quality fea- tures within the overall process. At the Karlsruhe Research Factory, you also experiment with the issue of “embedded scientists”. What exactly is this? Sauer: We define embedded scientists as employees from other enterprises and or- ganizations who join our team for specific tasks of the enterprise. In this context, they can do their PhD, for example, and return to their company later on, with the knowledge and expertise they have gained with us. So they can act as multipliers in their own or- ganization. This means that “embedded sci- entists” are actually an approach to further qualifying talented staff from industry who have a large potential by working with us. We do not want to remain in the academic ivory tower and design models that might be of interest for industry. Rather, the Karlsruhe Research Factory is supposed to be a devel- opment and test environment where we co- operate with large and small enterprises to work on actual and important issues for new production processes, enabling companies to launch and market their products quickly. The projects we currently have often show us that new products have to be developed simultaneously, while new processes have to be engineered in parallel. This does not only include the process of producing the new product; it sometimes also refers to the processes that lead to innovation. In addition, we constantly try to find new ways to make meaningful use of all the data generated by machine learning or AI. After all, we provide added value to our customers, taking the form of new, modified business models. This is making excessive demands on some com- panies, the every-day life of which is shaped by their daily routine. This is why we need a development and test environment in the form of a smart factory, to escape our daily work and find some distance. A number of enterprises have a kind of immune system against innovation. Often, this has to be the case because the ongoing development and production requires process stability. So it is a rather big challenge to say – okay, we want to start something new, we have a new idea for a product and this is why we need new processes. In this case, it is good to do this cooperatively in an environment that also inspires you. In Lemgo, in the region of Os- twestfalen/Lippe, we already have a Smart Factory OWL, in which we have gathered positive experience in this respect. There, we find a number of industrial partners who develop ideas together and exchange their experience with their projects. This mere ex- change is often enough to trigger innovation. The major point is that, together, the enter- prise partners develop ideas they would not have had alone, most likely. We need this test environment to create actual processes. Sometimes, the enterprises do not have any room in their own halls to establish a process transparently and to test it. In that case, it is simply ideal to have a test environment where you can do this. Obviously, you have gathered positive ex- perience with the concept of embedded scientists. What are your requirements for the potential “embedded scientist”? Who among the team members of an enterprise is particularly suited for this program? Sauer: Usually, embedded scientists are employees of an enterprise who have been working there for a few years and who also have, on a small scale, been in charge of special tasks and projects and now want to take another step in their development. The enterprises propose the employment as an embedded scientist as a step for further qualification. These men or women then re- main on the payroll of their employer. They work, in part, in the smart factory, where they cooperate with our teams investigat- ing an issue they bring up themselves. At the same time, they continue working in their own company. Alternatively, it is also possi- ble that enterprises have an issue but there is nobody in their own company who could work on it. This is where we benefit from the neighborhood of the university. We find someone among the PhD students or other researchers to address the issue. They are then located in our Research Factory, with connection to the enterprise. So when can your smart factory take up operation? What is your ongoing time schedule? Sauer: We assume that the building will be handed over to us as users in April 2021. Right now, we are on schedule. Inside the factory, we have defined test areas of eight by eight meters. These areas can be occupied by en- terprises setting up their demonstrators, new processes, machinery and equipment. We can connect various research areas in a series to model complete processes and later on we can test new processes. What kind of enterprises can use the Re- search Factory? Are there any restrictions with respect to the size of the enterprise or the sector of industry? Sauer: In the Karlsruhe area, there is a very vivid ecosystem of par tners with whom we have been cooperating for a long time now. They range from start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises from the re- gion to multi-national groups. Karlsruhe is an ideal location for information technology for manufacturers. In this city, there are var- ious very renowned research institutes in the field of IT. So the smart factory adds an- other component to the existing cooperation with all these partners. It is not a laboratory; rather, it is a real-life factory including the entire infrastructure needed to set up ma- chinery and equipment quickly. We have our own data center for the factory so we can process the generated data quickly. We are connected to the Steinbuch Center for Com- puting of the KIT. We thus have the complete infrastructure required for modern man- ufacturing. In addition, our factory has an open, bright and transparent infrastructure, which ensures a pleasant working atmos- phere. Sowhomcan enterprises contact to express their interest in working with the Smart Factory? Sauer: Interested companies can contact me directly or one of the involved institu- tions. The Karlsruhe Research Factory does not have any legal personality is not a legal entity itself. Rather, it is a joint initiative of the three participating institutes. What is your relationship with the Smart Electronic Factory (SEF) association? Sauer: To us, the SEF is very important be- cause we are already cooperating with small and medium-sized enterprises within the framework of the SEF and are doing joint research projects. This is a source of infor- mation for us to find out what problems and challenges small and medium-sized com- panies are facing and what competences are needed to be able to solve these issues together. The SEF is an important partner within the network of those enterprises that cannot develop the required competences in the more than complex area of Industrie 4.0 on their own. Enterprises simply cannot do this on their own. Dr. Sauer, thank you very much for the in- terview and the insight into the Karlsruhe Research Factory. Source: Vogel IT-Medien GmbH Dr.-Ing. Olaf Sauer Automation business unit / Deputy Institute Director Digital BusinessCard Embedded Scientists in der Forschungsfabrik https://t1p.de/jzl7 PodCast