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Industry 4.0: Interview
trends in automation
: The federal government has
announced that it intends to drive forward the digitisation
and networking of production, and the ‘Industry 4.0 Platform’
was officially launched at the Hannover Messe 2015. Dr. Veit,
you are part of the association’ s top people. What is really
behind the ‘Industry 4.0 Platform’?
Dr. Eberhard Veit:
Firstly I would like to make one comment:
in this case, launch does not mean we are starting at zero.
The newly formed platform is able to build on the excellent
work done by its predecessor, the associations’ platform
Industry 4.0. By collaborating closely with representatives
from the worlds of politics, associations and industry, we
have now put this topic on a broad political and social foot-
ing and, by involving companies, have once again signifi-
cantly strengthened the practical applications. The partici-
pants work in interdisciplinary teams on the topics of the
future such as standardisation, research and safety, but also
on questions relating to new working environments, training
and legal issues. I therefore believe we are well equipped to
drive forward this evolution in the world of production.
Evolution, however, also means change. What does
this mean for companies and what prerequisites must
they meet?
Veit:
Industry 4.0 is not just about introducing new tech
nologies. It is much more about an evolution in industrial
manufacturing up to and including completely networked
and flexible production. This also affects people’s working
world: there will be new tasks and requirements, and new
opportunities for interaction between people and technology.
Training and qualifications will therefore play a key role.
In the past, Germany has already had a huge influence
through groundbreaking innovations. Now we must build
on that inventive spirit and shape the new developments
in order to secure and expand our global competitive edge.
You mention interaction. What does that mean precisely?
How should we see that?
Veit:
In the future, people and technology will work a lot
more closely than they do today. On the one hand, we will
increasingly have more direct contact with robots and other
machines, for example in service robotics. In our new tech-
nology plant in Ostfildern-Scharnhausen we have developed
a robot with intelligent sensor systems which interacts safely
with employees without the need for a protective cage. Or
remember the Bionic Handling Assistant with which we won
the Deutsche Zukunftspreis back in 2010. Such machines
will be able to relieve people of monotonous or strenuous
tasks, for example in assembly. What is important is that
the technology must understand people and vice versa –
this also applies to using and controlling machines. Going
forward, we will have completely new operating concepts,
for example using mobile devices such as tablets or smart-
phones that are easy and intuitive to operate and will be
able to assist the user. I see huge potential there.
So this does not mean that people will be replaced
by machines?
Veit:
Correct. People are, and will remain, an integral and
indispensable part of the world of future production. While
new technologies will take over specific production steps
from workers, for example by gathering, evaluating and
using data to control processes, other work steps will be in-
troduced and this is where we reach a crucial point: further
Interview
Dr. Eberhard Veit talks about the role people will play
in the overall context of the
factory of tomorrow and how a company can prepare its employees. The Chairman of
the Management Board of Festo AG sits on the steering committee of the ‘Industry 4.0
Platform’ which now includes representatives from the worlds of politics, business,
associations, science, and trade unions.