With the real-time control of a 5-axial processing center, Marc Engelhardt, Jannik Münz, and Lukas Bohnacker won first prize in Germany’s youth research competition in the interdisciplinary category in 2017. In 2018, these youth from the German state of Baden-Württemberg are presenting their development at HANNOVER MESSE with the title Milling 4.0: This programmable 5-axial milling machine can carve out tools in nearly every shape from a block of material. Up to now, however, the rotational and infeed speed of the milling cutter needed to be adjusted manually. Engelhardt, Münz, and Bohnacker have developed a controller that automatically adjusts the parameters to the machining situation and the rate of wear of the tools. For real-time control, sensors need to precisely measure the force on the tools, create a simultaneous simulation to evaluate the data, and implement this into fast control electronics. The wear on the tools can be reduced by 80 percent with this solution.

Milling 4.0 is one of ten projects from its grant portfolio that Germany’s Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) is showcasing in Hannover (BMBF). “The future world of work”, the title of the current Year of Science and the headline for the group pavilion in Hall 2 (Stand B22). The purpose of the Year of Science is to promote an exchange between politics, society, and research. It is an initiative sponsored by the BMBF and “Scientific Dialogs” or (WiD).

ARENA2036, the research campus supported by the BMBF, a new research factory at the university campus in Stuttgart-Vaihingen, will present an intuitive programmable and operational screw assistant at the stand. ARENA2036 stands for Active Research Environment for the Next Generation of Automobiles with the purpose of realizing “versatile manufacturing of the future for intelligent, multi-material lightweight construction with integrated functions for the automotive industry.”

The 3Dsensation alliance is presenting a 3D sensor for real-time 3D data acquisition and processing. The project is coordinated at the Otto-von-Guericke University in Magdeburg with the goal of creating “fundamentally new solutions for human-machine interaction.” By using innovative 3D technologies, machines will be given the ability to visually record and interpret complex scenarios in order to become “partners and personal assistants to humans that can react according to situation.”

MESA (Use of Media in the Welding Industry) project is working on virtual welding. This research group located at the University of Bremen is working on new concepts and technologies for training and continuing education. It focuses on integrating training simulations and other digital media into the qualification process for professional welders and on blended learning concepts which combine in-class lectures with virtual learning.

The Future Work Lab is constructing an assembly assistant environment at the BMBF stand. This innovation lab from Stuttgart wants “companies, industry associations, workers, and unions to be able to experience the creation of future-oriented work concepts.” It combines demonstrations of concrete Industrie 4.0 applications with offers for skills development and also integrates the latest finding in work research.

An interactive human-machine interface in the form of a miniature human model comes from the University of Applied Sciences in Ostfalia. The purpose of this Human Engineering Computer Interface is to accelerate the generation of human simulations by a factor of 10. It is implemented “as a control and manipulation unit in the form of a physical human model.” The actual position and orientation of the model are “captured in all six degrees of freedom using sensors and transmitted to the human model in the digital factory.”

A robot head able to recognize objects and emotions is currently being developed at the TU Berlin. The interdisciplinary young research group MTI-engAge is investigating how the interaction between human and technology can be improved through sensors, actuators, algorhythms, and haptic close-up and visual distance perception. This BMBF-sponsored project deals with “human-centered, reliable interaction” between human beings and robotic assistance systems in the working world, maintaining good health, and living environments.

The Kopernikus project Industrial Processes is working on predicting electricity generation. It is dealing with “synchronized and energy-adaptive production technology to flexibly align industrial processes to fluctuating power supplies (SynErgie).” With 44 percent of the net electricity demand and 25 percent of heat demands in Germany, industrial processes – in particular individual equipment in energy-intensive industries – have significant leverage when it comes to flexibility.

In addition, an adaptive hearing system will be presented at the BMBF group pavilion. The Audio-PSS project has two goals: to increase the acceptance and comfort of modern hearing systems for the hearing-impaired, and research new business models for the hearing aid industry. To do so, it is developing and evaluating innovative services based on an integrated hearing system.

The BMBF also wants to demonstrate “how science and research can help design the working world of the future” at the Night of Innovations. This event on Monday during the trade show week (April 23, 5:15-10 p.m.) in Hall 2 has been one of the most popular events at HANNOVER MESSE for the past several years. The Night of Innovations may also be one of the first public appearances of Anja Karliczek. As Germany’s new Federal Minister of Research, she is the patron of Research & Technology .