We have been systematically collaborating with several promising start-ups since 2014, and they benefit from Festo’s industry expertise. Our collaborations particularly focus on technologies and solutions that can be used in our products and services to create added value for our customers or make our processes more efficient.
Start-up Pitch Events at Festo
That is why we regularly hold start-up pitch events focusing on specific technological areas of research, as well as on processes and procedures. The start-ups that are invited can discuss the challenges and possible solutions directly with the departments and explore potential forms of collaboration.
Our programs:
Gründermotor Initiative
Festo Is a Member of the Gründermotor Start-up Initiative
The Gründermotor initiative is the decentralized innovation platform for Baden-Württemberg to create the digital SMEs of tomorrow, today. To achieve this, Gründermotor works closely with numerous colleges and universities throughout Baden-Württemberg. The initiative gives innovative start-ups access to a premium network of experienced mentors, well-known investors, and partners from the worlds of business and science.
M.Tech Accelerator
Festo Has Partnered with M.Tech Accelerator – Engineering the Future of Mobility
The M.Tech Accelerator is a leading platform for technology start-ups in southern Germany that aims to drive the development of the Stuttgart region as a center for engineering and mobility. The program is supported by Stuttgart as Baden-Württemberg’s state capital, bwcon GmbH, TTI GmbH, the wizemann space, and the Stuttgart Region Economic Development Corporation. After the application phase, a total of 25 start-ups are accepted to the M.Tech Accelerator program for an entire year and are guided over a 12-month period. The program supports individuals and start-up teams with innovative products or business models in the mobility, manufacturing, and engineering sectors that are in the pre-founding or founding phase.
startup2mittelstand
Festo is a Partner Company in the startup2mittelstand Initiative
We have joined forces with other SMEs to find intelligent solutions with a focus on optimizing and digitalizing business processes and supporting this through new technologies – for example in the fields of purchasing, HR, or for our facilities. As a result of participating in the startup2mittelstand (start-up to SME) initiative, the companies involved are more successful in identifying and evaluating start-up solutions, while at the same time being more attractive to start-ups.
TechFounders
Festo Is Part of the TechFounders Accelerator Program
The TechFounders accelerator is a 20-week program that brings technology start-ups and strong industry partners together. With the help of various mentors and their networks, the start-ups prepare their business idea with the aim of implementing initial applications in the form of pilot projects. In addition to Festo, other companies including BMW, Bosch, Linde, and Miele are also involved in the accelerator program.
Example Collaborations:
aucobo
Simple networking of various interfaces, devices, and machines – this is the goal pursued by the Stuttgart-based start-up company aucobo. The two-person founder team began work at the beginning of 2016. Their smart systems, for example a smartwatch, make it possible to exchange information very easily between employees and machines. This allows production processes to be connected in an ideal manner.
Festo pilot project
Mobile machine operation is already being used at the Scharnhausen Technology Plant. Production employees can make flexible adjustments with their smartwatches. Status changes and machine errors are transmitted directly to the employees’ smartwatches. They can also request support from other systems. The solution increases machine availability and reduces unnecessary legwork for production employees.
More about aucobo
Holo-Light
Austrian software developers Holo-Light focus on IoT solutions for augmented reality devices such as the Microsoft HoloLens. Users of devices of this sort can digitally supplement their actual environments with additional information. Holo-Light develops intuitively operable mixed-reality software products for a great variety of industrial applications such as data goggles for use in production or at trade shows. The start-up was founded in April 2015.
Festo pilot project
HoloLens goggles are being tested by Festo for the first time in Rohrbach within the context of a pilot project. The technology supports typical, repetitive processes, for example employee training. Instead of working directly at the machine in the plant, the assembly process is projected via the data goggles in a training room.
With the help of holographic images and verbal instructions, the operating sequences, including all of the necessary details, can be trained virtually step by step. Practice assembly processes, become familiar with products, and receive important conduct and safety training: with the help of the data goggles, these training tasks can be implemented without interrupting the flow of production. And thus the HoloLens application contributes to time savings and cost reductions, as well as well-trained employees.
More about Holo-Light
realworld one
realworld one is a global provider of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) solutions. It serves customers in the fields of life sciences, analytics, and diagnostics, as well as the pharmaceutical and chemical industry and process technology. It offers a systematic approach to the implementation of VR and AR in sales, marketing, service, support, and production. More than 200 employees now work for realworld one, including at its headquarters in Freiburg im Breisgau and at four other locations.
(Pilot) projects at Festo
The Scharnhausen Technology Plant introduced VR for system procurement back in 2017 to optimize the procurement process for new systems. VR has since become an important element of many other processes, including some collaborative processes. For example, VR is used in assembly system planning to gather feedback from staff at an early stage and optimize the assembly and workplace layouts. This makes it possible to analyze and optimize new manual workstations or machines extensively and, above all, realistically while they are still in the design and planning phase. Virtually experiencing the future assembly system also helps cut costs associated with subsequent changes and training processes, and significantly increases the speed of work, ergonomics, and employee satisfaction.
V-INDUSTRY
The sharing economy has entered the industrial sector – V-INDUSTRY makes it possible to subcontract out production processes in a cost-effective and transparent manner. The V-INDUSTRY platform can be used to quickly and easily find suitable machines for a production order as well as available machine capacities. In this way, the start-up from Ostfildern is optimizing the process of engaging contract manufacturers and effectively streamlining administrative processes in the value stream.
Festo pilot project
The V-INDUSTRY platform is used in Festo’s equipment production facilities in Scharnhausen. The tool allows the facility to place orders more quickly and contract out work with greater flexibility. Now these steps can be automated and performed even more efficiently – V-INDUSTRY takes a holistic approach to digitalization/Industry 4.0, which opens up considerable potential for optimizing administrative processes.