Autor: Ludger Overmeyer

Designing a road layout for automated guided vehicles (AGV) can be a very laborious process that is based in big parts upon the knowledge of experienced system planers. Up until now, it is not possible to save that knowledge in a form that makes it usable in an automated layout process for AGV-roadmaps. The research project aims to integrate the knowledge of the system planers in an artificial intelligence, so in the future an automated process of designing AGV roadmaps is achievable. The knowledge is implemented within a fuzzy-logic and can be used as a controller for the planning process.

The human being has the ability to adapt to physical changes in the production and logistic environment. The aim of this research project is to equip series transport vehicle with additional intelligent technique so that the vehicle becomes an automated guided vehicle (AGV) and to reduce the commissioning effort for AGVs. The user can control the AGV by voice and gesture so the AGV can do the work automatically. To realize such an interactive system it is important to develop decentralized controllers for the AGV. Thus, it is possible that the AGV is able to flexibly adapt his own behaviour.

The customer-oriented individual production, as part of the future project “Industry 4.0”, is based on the progressive shortening of development cycles. The parallel to the material flow directed flow of information gains in importance for a decentralized material flow control. The use of this newly available information through the production systems requires cognitive abilities on the machines. For this, future machines as well as handling and transport systems should communicate, identify problems, make their own conclusions, learn and plan. For this purpose Cyber-Physical Production Systems are the technological foundation.

In this paper common characteristics of XXL-products are shown and a potential basis for the definition of XXL-products is derived. The proposed definition is based upon the hypothesis that man encounters his technical, organizational and economic limits with the methods and tools available at the time of observation, in the context of the creation of a XXL-product. The proposed definition will provide a clear distinction between conventional products and XXL-products. This enables precise discussions and the development of product-spanning solutions to overcome common challenges of XXL-products.

Continuously growing XXL-products are reaching dimensions that can hardly be handled without innovative technological support. Therefore advances in the transport and lifting technologies are aimed at manufacturing (partly) automated assembly aids for the final assembly of large scale components. The assembly of XXL-products is similar to the construction of prototypes. The aim is to avoid constant new development and design of assembly aids by making them usable across several processes. In addition to the presentation of a method for systematization and easier choice of assembly aids in this paper there will also be presented the product development process of an assembly aid for craneless and therefore weather-independent assembly of rotor blades on offshore wind energy plants.

Globally increasing imitation of products increases pressure on introducing protective concepts. Analyzing constraints such as the product and the distribution process and examining protective measures are the conditions for protecting effectively. A balance between technically achievable solutions and economically justifiable efforts is to be found. Therefore, a research project of the Institute of Integrated Production Hannover focuses on RFID based authenticity certificates in folded boxes for pharmaceutical products.

The creation and configuration of innovative business models within the sheet metal forming industry focuses on the development of saleable product-service-combinations. It is necessary to integrate these product-service-combinations in adequate value chain configurations. To charge the output of the product-service-combinations appropriate revenue models must be selected and configured. This article shows an integrative methodology for redesigning existing and creating new business models.

In the planning phase of cyclically interlinked production lines neural networks are used to learn and forecast the characteristics of these systems. To increase the results of learning and to accelerate the training this paper presents a method, based on genetic algorithms, that reduces the attributes to describe the behaviour of the production lines.

In today’s prevailing buyers market, enterprises are more and more facing the necessity to meet the increasingly high requirements on delivery lead time, delivery reliability, quality and costs. Thus, the illustration, analysis and interpretation of logistic production processes becomes more and more important. For fulfilling the requirements mentioned before the production planning and control (PPC) can be supported efficiently by suitable controlling concepts. However, analyses from the Institute of Production Systems and Logistics (IFA) prove that current controlling concepts possess deficits. In this context the RFID-Technology can produce a relief. By using this technology it is possible to identify and track products contact-free and in real time. Nowadays, the applications are limited because the existing chips can only save, delete or rewrite the collected data. Therefore, the Institute of Transport und Automation Technology (ITA) developed a smart label with an integrated ...