Data in Dialogue

Manuel Bösing, digital production specialist, and Paul Koch, expert in automation, discuss how the most important corporate resource can be used.

© Fraunhofer IPK / Larissa Klassen
Paul Koch...

How are you using data and AI?

Koch:

A prerequisite for automation is often that machines need to be able to »see«. We teach them this skill – for example through using AI-based image processing. Thanks to deep learning, robots and machines can recognize increasingly complex patterns and solve ever more difficult tasks. The key to successful learning is optimally prepared data.

Bösing:

Data is the foundation for networked production. We analyze data down to the smallest detail to optimize machines, processes and maintenance. Smart maintenance is no longer a trend, but a necessity. And AI is also driving forward the evaluation of machine data.

From process analysis to AI projects: What role does data quality play?

Bösing:

The challenge lies in identifying the data that is most meaningful for well-founded analyses. This is not always easy. Companies benefit from specific use cases that make it possible to grasp the potential of data solutions.

Koch:

Smart data before big data, I agree. By filtering large amounts of data with the help of special algorithms, we can significantly reduce the amount of training data. The results are more precise AI models and a better energy footprint.

What are you currently working on and to what extent does it involve data?

Bösing:

We need a sophisticated network to allow all devices on the shop floor to communicate with each other. As part of the MRO 2.0 project, we are developing a multilayer infrastructure consisting of edge, fog and cloud. Each layer is responsible for one aspect of data processing. We also want to create a truly end-to-end digital component twin using a gas turbine blade as an example.

Koch:

In the project KIKERP we are developing an AI assistant that evaluates old electrical appliances for refurbishing. Until enough image data is available, we are generating artificial training data that resembles the real data – also using AI. At the same time, we are researching how purely synthetic data can be used to train for an optical inspection – even before the very first product has been manufactured. This reduces costs and ensures high quality right from the start.

© Fraunhofer IPK / Larissa Klassen
...and Manuel Bösing develop production technology solutions that depend on curated data.

More information

 

Research project

KIKERP

AI-based identification and classification of (used) electrical appliances for robotic process automation in circular economy-oriented digital management ecosystems

Research project

Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul

Components, systems and machines will no longer just be repaired in the traditional way, but equipped with better properties.

Funding notice

The project KIKERP is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in the funding program KI4KMU, funding code 0118S23055C, and supervised by the project management agency DLR.