Exhibitors & Products

No risk of crossed wires here!
Siemens AG is at HANNOVER MESSE 2018 to showcase the new Sinamics G120 Smart Access Module for wireless commissioning, diagnostics and servicing of the Sinamics G120 converter series via smartphone, tablet or laptop.

Using WiFi to connect mobile devices such as tablets, smartphones or laptops to the Sinamics G120, Sinamics G120C and Sinamics G120P converter series, this new add-on feature makes commissioning, diagnostics and servicing completely wireless. As a result, operators can quickly detect error messages or warning signals and save or reset settings. The module is set up in just a few simple steps using any standard web browser and operating system, with no need to download any additional software thanks to the webserver function. What’s more, an intuitive user interface and menu guidance make for a highly user-friendly solution.

But that's not all the Sinamics G120 Smart Access Module has to offer - converter settings can also be duplicated and sent to other mobile devices to commission additional converters, which makes working with several converters significantly easier. The option to swap Sinamics G120 Smart Access Modules between different converters from the three series means operators can take care of commissioning with a single mobile terminal device. The module then acts as a transportable storage solution with web-based control and a wireless client link.
Siemens AG (90475 Nuremberg, Germany), Hall 9, Stand D35
Contact: Yashar Azad
Tel.: +49 89 636 37970
E-Mail: yashar.azad@siemens.com

Learn how to grab like a chameleon
As part of its Bionics4Education initiative, Festo Didactic has developed the "Bionics Kit" to introduce children and young people to bionics at an early age and thus foster their interest in bionics-related and STEM careers.

Festo Didactic, part of the Festo Group, is a world-leading service provider of technical training at various levels. The company's product and service portfolio offers customers end-to-end solutions for all areas of technology in industrial automation, such as pneumatics, hydraulics, electrics, electronics, mechatronics, CNC machinery, energy efficiency, mobility, renewable energy, industrial maintenance, HVAC and telecommunications. Festo Didactic designs and implements learning systems, learning environments, laboratories, training sites, e-learning solutions, training programs, and even entire training centers that systematically prepare learners for dynamic and complex tasks in industrial settings. The company strives to achieve the best success rates in schools and training centers and ensure budding industrial workers across the globe gain skills for life.

Although Festo Didactic usually focuses on adult education, the German company has now chosen HANNOVER MESSE 2018 to demonstrate a solution specifically designed with young future engineers in mind. As part of its Bionics4Education initiative, the training specialist has created the practical Bionics Kit with components for three different animal robots - a bionic fish, a chameleon’s gripper and an elephant’s trunk. The company has produced the experiment kit to spark young people's interest in bionics as early as possible and thus encourage them to pursue a future career in bionics or another STEM subject. The interdisciplinary kit can be integrated into just about any science-related subject area, whether in school, during project days or at one-off events.
Festo Didactic SE (73770 Denkendorf, Germany), Hall 15, Stand D11
Contact: Sibylle Wirth
Tel.: +49 711 3475 0814
E-Mail: presse@festo.com

In the land of the one-armed, the two-armed man is king
The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) is at HANNOVER MESSE 2018 to showcase a range of creative ideas and unveil some unmissable innovations. Visitors can even catch a glimpse of a two-armed robot that can take care of a lot of things humans might soon no longer want to do.

Ever since it was founded in 1976, the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials has been renowned as one of the cornerstones of economic growth in the Republic of Korea. With a primary R&D focus on key mechanical engineering technology, the Institute conducts safety tests, inspects machine components and materials and finally launches fully developed products and machinery by way of technology transfers and support. At this year’s HANNOVER MESSE, KIMM is showing off a whole range of fascinating exhibits, including a robotic prosthetic foot, a high-speed gear unit for electric vehicles and even a two-armed robot.

The two-armed robot system developed by the Institute's expert engineers is suitable for use in a whole host of applications. Whether it's packaging processes in logistics, assembly tasks in the IT sector or even therapeutic treatments - the market seems to be crying out for two-armed assistants. The robot is similar to a human in size and its newly developed, ultralight yet strong arms can carry more than seven kilograms. For skeptics who might say you could just simply combine two single robot arms, KIMM offers hardware developed in-house, which features a special process design with control algorithms designed for two-handed usage right from the start.
Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) (34103 Daejeon, Republic of Korea), Hall 2, Stand A62/1
Contact: Ji Hyeon Seo
Tel.: +82 42 868 7329
Mobile: +82 10 2754 0045
E-Mail: san@kimm.re.kr

Make way for redox flow batteries!
The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is at the flagship Energy fair during HANNOVER MESSE 2018 to show off its battery management system for decentralized monitoring and control of redox flow batteries.

As the digital revolution marches on, producing renewable energy is no longer a problem - it's the storage and distribution that are posing a challenge. Storing energy locally in batteries seems to be the easiest way to even out fluctuating production capacity levels. Quickly catching up with established lithium ion batteries are innovative redox flow batteries, which store electrical energy in liquid chemical compounds. As the output and energy content of redox flow batteries are directly related to the size of the membrane and tank, both parameters can be scaled independently. Experts agree that this almost unlimited scalability makes these cutting-edge batteries the perfect network storage solution for the energy revolution - for example, by storing solar energy so it can be used at night.

According to Professor Thomas Leibfried from the Institute of Electric Energy Systems and High-Voltage Engineering at KIT, the reason the technology hasn’t yet achieved a breakthrough is that it is difficult to use efficiently. While funding has been plowed into developing lithium ion batteries for decades, redox flow batteries are just starting out and therefore still need to be structurally redesigned for each application scenario. To change this, Professor Leibfried’s research group has developed a prototype automatic battery management solution that is currently being tested in a vanadium flow battery at KIT. The solution is designed to ensure the redox flow battery operates at maximum efficiency during both the charge and discharge cycle - irrespective of the area of application. Once the prototype - currently on show at this year’s HANNOVER MESSE - has proven itself, the battery management solution is set to be miniaturized and placed onto a microchip in the market-ready version.
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) (76131 Karlsruhe, Germany), Hall 27, Stand K51
Contact: Margarete Lehné
Tel.: +49 721 608-21157
E-Mail: margarete.lehne@kit.edu

A license to protect!
After Phoenix Contact named WIBU-SYSTEM’s CodeMeter the best licensing and rights management solution for its PLCnext Technology control platform, the two companies are at HANNOVER MESSE 2018 to announce their future collaboration.

WIBU-SYSTEMS AG is a global technology pioneer for software security and license lifecycle management. The company has developed a comprehensive and award-winning portfolio of hardware and software solutions for PCs, embedded systems, mobile devices, PLCs and microcontrollers. Under the slogan "Perfection in Protection, Licensing and Security", WIBU-SYSTEMS helps software developers and manufacturers of intelligent devices to safeguard the intellectual property in their gadgets and applications against illegal and unauthorized usage, reproduction, sabotage, espionage and cyber-attacks. What’s more, it provides expert support for successfully rolling out new business models.

WIBU-SYSTEMS has now chosen HANNOVER MESSE 2018 to announce its collaboration with Phoenix Contact. The global market leader for components, systems and solutions in electrics, electronics and automation has hailed WIBU-SYSTEM's CodeMeter the best licensing and rights management solution for its PLCnext Technology control platform. CodeMeter meets all of Phoenix Contact’s needs. With the AxProtector.NET, the manufacturer can automatically encrypt classes and methods of its software and, using a safety shell, safeguard it against product piracy and reverse engineering. The software-based CmActLicense solution links software licenses to the target system’'s fingerprint. Alternatively, licenses are stored in CmDongle hardware, which comes in several formats, including USB sticks, memory cards and ASICs. Thanks to CodeMeter License Central, the company can now also create, deliver and manage standalone, network, demo, and emergency licenses of its software and matching add-ons.
WIBU-SYSTEMS AG (76137 Karlsruhe, Germany), Hall 6, Stand C15
Contact: Elke Spiegelhalter
Tel.: +49 721 9317 211
E-Mail: elke.spiegelhalter@wibu.com

Let it shine!
Power Research Electronics (PRE) has chosen HANNOVER MESSE 2018 to celebrate the debut of the world's first bidirectional vehicle-to-grid rapid charging device powered entirely by solar energy. Shortly before this year's trade fair, this innovative solution even secured the Dutch company the IDTechEX Award.

Despite various hiccups, electromobility is well on track to becoming a success. But first, it has to earn back its long-attested reputation as a sustainable alternative. After all, for electromobility to be viable in the long term, the energy that powers it needs to come exclusively from renewable sources and not fossil fuels or nuclear fission. Nowadays, sustainable sources such as solar panels or wind turbines are everywhere you look, so the question is: Why aren't they being used to charge electric vehicles directly? One reason is that these vehicles are currently always charged from the grid. This means the solar cells’ direct current is first converted into alternating current for the power grid and then converted back into direct current for the vehicle's energy storage device. Annoyingly, just under ten percent of energy is lost during each conversion process, resulting in a total loss of approximately 19 percent. PRE therefore decided it was time to tackle the issue. Together with researchers from Delft University of Technology and Last Mile Solutions, the company developed a charging station that enables drivers to charge their electric cars using solar panels - without having to plug into the grid.

The result is the world’'s first ever solar-powered bidirectional vehicle-to-grid (V2G) rapid charging device. It charges electric cars directly with solar energy (photovoltaics), thereby circumventing the usual conversion losses. The V2G device is designed to be 17 percent more efficient than comparable charging devices on today's market. Shortly before its premiere at HANNOVER MESSE 2018, the cutting-edge charging device from PRE won the IDTechEX Award in Berlin - the perfect testimonial for participating in this year's fair.
Power Research Electronics B.V. (4817 ZK Breda, the Netherlands), Hall 27, Stand G45
Contact: Harm Wijsman
Mobil: +31 6 42 71 7345
E-Mail: harm@hightechcontent.nl

Taking the "what-ifs" out of self-driving cars
The Simulation and Optimal Processes Group from Ilmenau University of Technology (TU Ilmenau) is just one of the exhibitors at the "Forschung für die Zukunft" R&D collaboration pavilion. The Group's contribution to the stand hosted by the German regions of Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, is a model-based system that shows how it would roll out the concept of autonomous driving.

"TU Ilmenau presents the technology of tomorrow at HANNOVER MESSE." As slogans go, this one definitely sounds more like the proud pragmatist presenting hard-won achievements than the persuasive PR people peddling the purported eighth wonder of the world. What's more, by zeroing in on autonomous driving, the scientists at TU Ilmenau have also picked out a topic that will actually affect everyone in some way, and is proving somewhat controversial. If you're the kind of person who can't help wondering "what if..?", you'd be well advised to head along to the pavilion. "What if a self-driving car hits an elderly pedestrian because it mistakes an advertising hoarding that is blown into the road for a child and serves to miss it?" you ask? That's exactly the kind of fear that the team from TU Ilmenau wants to allay. The model system they are presenting at HANNOVER MESSE 2018 clearly sets out how their concept of autonomous driving can rule out dramatic chains of events precisely like this.

The team from the “"Simulation and Optimal Processes Group" led by Professor Pu Li are using their exhibit to show how high-tech model cars can reliably master even tricky maneuvers like maintaining a set distance from other vehicles or immediately detecting obstacles. What's more, these impressive technical achievements are based on self-learning algorithms and don’t require any human intervention during driving. The team's approach to tackling specific tasks is based on a strategy that is calculated online, making it safer and less prone to faults than conventional processes. To achieve their aims, the researchers developed an optimization procedure that takes equal account of environmental conditions, vehicle dynamics and the preferences of the people traveling in the vehicle. The concept can be easily transferred to full-scale vehicles and should therefore be of great interest to the automobile industry. In fact, just last year, the development won the team from TU Ilmenau the Audi Autonomous Driving Cup, an international competition aimed at delivering fully automated driving functions and the associated software architectures.
Technische Universität Ilmenau (98693 Ilmenau, Germany), Hall 2, Stand A38
Contact: Sabine Jackisch
Tel.: +49 36 7769 1761
E-Mail: sabine.jackisch@tu-ilmenau.de

Take a seat to see how these sensors measure up!
THK, one of the world’'s leading suppliers of linear systems, is at HANNOVER MESSE 2018 with two prototypes. Kitted out with special sensors, the developments are geared toward looking out for the health of users and adapting to surrounding conditions.

The German branch of Tokyo-based company THK is exhibiting two highly promising prototypes at HANNOVER MESSE 2018 – the "ATMOS" humanoid sensing object and the "ARGUS MOVA" smart sensing seat. The "ATMOS" sensoroid, consists of a white "skeleton" and a whole load of plexiglass discs arranged to form the contours of the human body. Sensors can be inserted between the plexiglass disks to measure various types of data from the sensoroid's immediate surroundings, sending the information to a separate onscreen display. Thanks to FBL27D telescopic slide rails from THK, the chest cavity can also be opened up to allow easy installation and removal of the necessary measuring equipment. What's more, "ATMOS" also has a THK RF77F cross roller ring built into its waist so it can be repositioned with ease.

The intelligent “"ARGUS MOVA" chair features a highly sensitive array of integrated sensors and an evaluation program for recording a range of parameters such as the user’s breathing, heart rate and stress levels. The futuristic design of the "ARGUS MOVA", with its white shell-type seat and transparent acrylic legs, gives the impression that the seat is floating in mid-air. Thanks to its flexibility for styling, the "ARGUS MOVA" can be used in cars, trains and aircraft, but also anywhere where design really matters.
THK GmbH (40880 Ratingen, Germany), Hall 17, Stand B49
Contact: Christian Frowein
Tel.: +49 2102 7425 555
E-mail: info.ehq@thk.eu

Gimme five!
Yuanda Robotics, a spin-off from the Institute of Mechatronic Systems of Leibniz Universität Hannover, is on "home ground" as it celebrates a world premiere. Its new robot system - developed with impressive speed - features five truly outstanding features.

HANNOVER MESSE has always been a global player, and with exhibitors and visitors from all over the world that is more true today than ever before. At the same time, the fair is also a showcase for its region, which has traditionally been a hotbed of advanced industrial solutions. This year sees a new company joining the ranks of local exhibitors - and it is certainly in tune with the times. The robot systems of Yuanda Robotics, which are celebrating their world premiere at HANNOVER MESSE 2018, are quite literally "Made in Hannover". However, their innovative technology makes them ideal for use in any industrial environment. "Yuanda Robotics is an outstanding example of the innovative prowess of the region and Leibniz Universität Hannover," says Ulf-Birger Franz, Head of Economics for the Hanover Region. Indeed, the 15 employees at the company learned their craft at the Institute of Mechatronic Systems of Leibniz Universität Hannover. "Spin-offs like these give Hannover a fantastic boost as a powerhouse of robotics and give young talent real career prospects in the region."

Five features help the "ready-to-use" robot really stand out and ensure it can be used in very different branches of industry and industrial environments. The device is sensitive, meaning it can execute delicate, smooth hand movements. It works with "open eyes", using a camera to take in its surroundings and get its bearings. The robot is also intelligent, constantly learning and improving – which includes using the camera function to evaluate images and use them for new tasks. It is intuitive and can carry out certain tasks in collaboration with humans. Finally, it is flexible, with modular hardware and software that ensures it can be assembled in a range of designs. "Feeling, seeing, thinking and understanding - our robots exhibit all these human characteristics and abilities," explains Dr. Jens Kotlarski, Managing Director of the young company, describing the special technology behind the company's product. Officially, the first robots will be available at the end of the year, once the manufacturer and pilot customers have completed the last tests.
Yuanda Robotics GmbH (30171 Hannover, Germany), Hall 17, Stand C64
Contact: Frauke Bittner
Tel.: +49 511 61622076
E-Mail: frauke.bittner@region-hannover.de

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