As digitization gathers pace, production facilities and logistics systems are becoming increasingly autonomous, with human workers having to do less and less to control systems. What really counts when trying to run a smart factory smoothly is achieving harmonious collaboration between individual components that are sometimes very different from one another. The scenarios of the future include vehicles driving themselves across factory sites to various loading and unloading points, automated loading and unloading processes for transportation vehicles, and coordination of various vehicles and loading/unloading facilities. At HANNOVER MESSE 2019, Bertrandt AG is using automated miniature trucks in a virtual 3D model of a depot to show how individual components can work together and be deployed in the drive toward smartification, cloud connectivity and mixed reality visualization. "Our exhibit aims to show visitors what an automated depot of the future can look like. This model can be applied to various applications for autonomous vehicles. It isn't limited to factories," says Catherine de Beule, head of software development at Bertrandt.

Yet the scenario on show at the trade fair is only part of what Bertrandt has to offer when it comes to Industry 4.0. The group also provides solutions for capturing, transferring and analyzing machine data and displays this data using state-of-the-art, intuitive applications such as smartphones, tablets and digital control stations. What’s more, it boasts the development expertise to display data using Microsoft HoloLens. The aim is to boost efficiency in industrial companies and continuously optimize processes by digitizing production, thus helping these companies on the path toward predictive maintenance. The extensive Bertrandt portfolio is rounded off with specific solutions such as consulting, designs for cloud architectures, and the development of algorithms for optimum data analysis.