At the OWL joint stand, organised by OstWestfalenLippe GmbH, owl maschinenbau and it ́s OWL cluster management, 33 companies, research institutions and networks will showcase their solutions and experiences on the occasion of HANNOVER MESSE 2023. The focus will be on machine learning, climate-neutral production, innovative energy management, intelligent product development and the working world of the future.

Virtual human model and platform for AI in product development

At a demonstrator from Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences, for example, visitors to the fair can experience how ergonomics at industrial workplaces are analysed by motion capture and optimised with the help of artificial intelligence: 17 sensors determine the precise position of every part of the body so that a virtual model of a person, their posture and their movement sequences is created. On this virtual model, ergonomic measurements are possible without interruptions and spatial limitations. The solution was developed in the Competence Centre Working World.Plus, in which 20 companies and research institutions are developing the potential of artificial intelligence to improve working conditions and competence transfer.

Making better use of the manifold potentials of AI-supported engineering

Whether it's AI-supported vehicle diagnostics or the optimisation of design data - the potentials of artificial intelligence in engineering are manifold. This is precisely where the AI marketplace comes in. Providers, users and experts can develop AI solutions together on one platform and exchange ideas. The functional platform with app store and development environment will be presented to the professional world for the first time in Hannover. This enables companies to increase their development capacities as well as efficiency in development projects by almost 20 percent and reduce subsequent manufacturing costs by around 13 percent. Hella Gutmann Solutions, for example, shows how well the AI marketplace works. With the help of the platform, the company has developed an AI-supported vehicle diagnosis to automatically detect defective components and thus support workshop employees.

Sustainable business and climate-neutral production

The competences and experience in the fields of AI are an important success factor for sustainable economic activity. Against this background, OstWestfalenLippe has the best prerequisites to distinguish itself as a model region for sustainable value creation. Numerous solutions have already been developed in the projects of the it ́s OWL Leading-Edge Cluster, which will be presented to the experts in Hannover. These include, for example, the reduction of CO2 in production, intelligent automation solutions for wind energy, electrification and intelligent energy management as well as circular value creation.

Assessing economic impact and deriving strategic savings measures

In the "Climate-Neutral Business OWL" project, for example, the companies GEA, Miele, NTT Data and Phoenix Contact are working together with the universities of Bielefeld and Paderborn to develop a concept for evaluating and reducing greenhouse gas emissions along the value chain. For each stage of the value chain, the emissions are included at the process and sub-product level and allocated to an end product using suitable allocation methods. Through the integrated analysis of the polluters in their own production and along the value chain, companies can evaluate the emissions according to their ecological and economic impact and derive strategic savings measures.

Improving mobility in rural areas

Another trade fair highlight is the MonoCab from the OWL University of Applied Sciences: the intelligent monorail vehicle for mobility in rural areas will be demonstrated for the first time to national and international trade visitors. With the help of disused sections of a railway line in Lippe, the self-propelled monorail cabin is to create a local transport service that works in both directions despite being single-track. The vehicle is ordered individually and according to demand via app. A prototype of the MonoCab can be viewed at the trade fair stand.

Start-ups for small and medium-sized businesses

Together with the start-up initiatives, new business models for the industry of the future will be presented. For example, the Credular platform enables small and medium-sized companies to get started with augmented and mixed reality technologies in a low-threshold way, for example for training employees or for monitoring and controlling plants. And the JoBooking recruiting platform creates a network of companies, schools and young people in order to make the transition from school to work as transparent and uncomplicated as possible for everyone involved.

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