ETHERLINE® GUARD thus contributes to realising a "digital twin" within production facilities. "For LAPP, this is a paradigm shift, as it involves embedded software and programming an algorithm. This is something completely different to developing a cable", Georg Stawowy, Member of the Board for Innovation and Technology at Lapp Holding AG, stresses and adds: "Creating a digital picture of the physical world is a mega trend that we have also embraced in the field of connection solutions".

LAPP presented a prototype of ETHERLINE® GUARD in its futureLab at the Hannover Messe 2019. The early introduction of ETHERLINE® GUARD to potential customers was extremely helpful for LAPP in the development process. As early as 2020, ETHERLINE® GUARD was used by three pilot customers from the medical technology, automotive and intralogistics sectors, as well as in the LAPP service and logistics centre in Ludwigsburg. Thanks to direct customer feedback, it was possible to prevent the innovation from being developed without clearly focusing on the market. So, simple operation yet complex functionality were particularly important to customers. The fully marketable product was finally launched three months ago. ETHERLINE® GUARD is in particular demand from customers for whom a malfunction or repair of a cable would be particularly critical and costly. LAPP envisions applications in the process industry, the automotive sector, medical technology and critical supply infrastructure.