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In recent times, both geopolitical challenges and the need to counteract climate change have led to an increase in generated renewable energy as well as an increased demand for clean electrical energy. The resulting variability of electricity production and demand as well as an overall demand increase, put additional stress on the existing grid infrastructure. This leads to strongly increased maintenance demands for distribution system operators (DSOs). Today, condition monitoring is used to address these challenges. Researchers have already explored solutions for monitoring critical assets like switchgear and circuit breakers. However, with a shrinking knowledgeable technical workforce and increasing maintenance requirements, mere monitoring is insufficient. Already today, DSOs ask for actionable recommendations, optimization strategies, and prioritization methods to manage the growing task backlog effectively. In this paper we propose a vision of a grid-level cognitive assistance system that translates the outcome of diagnosis and prognosis systems into actionable work tasks for the grid operator. The solution is highly interdisciplinary and based on empirical studies of real-world requirements. We also describe the related work relevant to the multi-disciplinary aspects and summarize the research gaps that need to be closed over the next years.
Crisis situations can lead to extreme consequences for society and the economy, such as the disruption of supply chains and the collapse of critical infrastructure. The challenge for optimal crisis preparation lies in the unpredictability of causes, duration and scope, and severity. AI-based resilience services can aid in crisis preparation by providing software-based warnings, recommendations, and countermeasures. The aim of this paper is to present a method for evaluating such services in terms of their usefulness and acceptance. A questionnaire is presented, and the results of its piloting phase are disseminated. With these results, existing and projected AI-based services for crisis prevention can be evaluated.
Digital technologies have gained significant importance in the course of the 4th Industrial Revolution and these technologies are widely implemented, nowadays. However, it is necessary to bear in mind that an ill-considered use can quickly have a negative impact on the environment in which the technology is used. For more responsible and sustainable use, the regulation of digital technologies is therefore necessary today. Since the government is taking a very slow response, as the example of the AI Act shows, companies need to take action themselves today. In this context, one of the central questions for companies is: "Which digital technologies are relevant for manufacturing companies in terms of regulation? This paper conducted a quantitative Delphi study to answer this question. The results of the Delphi study are presented and evaluated within the framework of a data analysis. In addition, it will be discussed how to proceed with the results so that manufacturing companies can benefit from them. Furthermore, the paper contributes to the development of an AI platform in the German research project PAIRS by investigating the compliance relevance of artificial intelligence applications.
Digital technologies such as 5G, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence (AI) are currently being used in various ways by manufacturing companies. As the fourth industrial revolution progresses, it has become apparent that reckless use and inadequate regulation of these technologies have a detrimental effect on the environment in which they are utilized. Therefore, regulation of digital technologies is imperative today to ensure more responsible and sustainable use. While governments usually establish regulations, progress is not keeping pace with the demands and hazards of employing digital technologies. The European AI law serves as an example of the considerable distance yet to be covered before binding guidelines are established. Consequently, companies must take proactive measures today to ensure that they use digital technologies responsibly in their environments. In this context, identifying which digital technologies are pertinent to manufacturing companies in terms of regulation is crucial. Furthermore, a comprehensive approach is required to design compliance holistically for digital technologies and to systematically derive the corresponding guidelines. This paper introduces a set of models that not only determine the importance of
compliance in the application of different technologies but also present a framework for methodically designing compliance. Furthermore, the paper contributes to the development of an AI platform in the German research project PAIRS by investigating the compliance relevance of applications such as artificial intelligence.
With the development of publicly accessible broker systems within the last decade, the complexity of data-driven ecosystems is expected to become manageable for self-managed digitalisation. Having identified event-driven IT-architectures as a suitable solution for the architectural requirements of Industry 4.0, the producing industry is now offered a relevant alternative to prominent third-party ecosystems. Although the technical components are readily available, the realisation of an event-driven IT-architecture in production is often hindered by a lack of reference projects, and hence uncertainty about its success and risks. The research institute FIR and IT-expert synyx are thus developing an event-driven IT-architecture in the Center Smart Logistics' producing factory, which is designed to be a multi-agent testbed for members of the cluster. With the experience gained in industrial projects, a target IT-architecture was conceptualised that proposes a solution for a self-managed data-ecosystem based on open-source technologies. With the iterative integration of factory-relevant Industry 4.0 use cases, the target is continuously realised and validated. The paper presents the developed solution for a self-managed event-driven IT-architecture and presents the implications of the decisions made. Furthermore, the progress of two use cases, namely an IT-OT-integration and a smart product demonstrator for the research project BlueSAM, are presented to highlight the iterative technical implementability and merits, enabled by the architecture.
Intelligente Produkte werden für produzierende Unternehmen immer mehr zum Bestandteil einer umfassenden Digitalisierungsstrategie. Der Grund liegt darin, dass die Anreicherung eines Produkts mit digitalen Technologien konkrete Mehrwerte für Produzent:in und Kund:in erzeugt, aus denen sich langfristig Wettbewerbsvorteile ergeben. Während große Konzerne diese Strategie bereits für sich realisieren, bedeutet die notwendige Interdisziplinarität aus fachlicher und digitaler Expertise jedoch eine Hürde für KMU, die ihre Digitalisierung mit geringeren Ressourcen verfolgen.
Im EU-Forschungsprojekt ‚BlueSAM‘ hat das FIR mit dem belgischen Partner Sirris eine Methode erarbeitet, die Entwicklung Intelligenter Produkte nutzenorientiert auszurichten und sie architekturell vorzuarbeiten, um KMU einen vereinfachten Einstieg zu bereiten und initiale Aufwände zu reduzieren. Die nun über ein öffentlich verfügbares Webtool nutzbare BlueSAM-Methode hat das FIR dazu genutzt, ein eigenes Intelligentes Produkt als Demonstrator zu entwickeln: eine Espressomaschine, die gelernt hat, Personen bei der Espressozubereitung mit der Maschine zu unterstützen. Aus den Daten erkennt man etwa, wann der Espresso im Brauprozess die ideale Menge erreicht hat oder zu welchen Tageszeiten welche Sorten am beliebtesten sind.
Feeding the growing world population is a scientific and economic challenge. The target variables to be optimised are the yield that can be produced on a given area and the reduction of the resources used for this purpose. High-wage countries are faced with the problem that the use of personnel is a significant cost driver. Developing countries, on the other hand, usually operate on much smaller field sizes, so that the work in the field is still strongly characterised by manual labour. One solution to meet these challenges is the use of smaller autonomous harvesting robots. These can be networked into a swarm of machines to work even larger fields. The networking of autonomous agricultural machines is a key use case for rural 5G networks. 5G technology can offer many advantages over older mobile communications standards and therefore make use cases more efficient or enable new ones. Various use cases are also conceivable in the field of agriculture, yet it is unclear how 5G networks can and must be specified for this purpose. In this paper, using the example of 5G-connected harvesters powered by swarm robotics, we present the challenges that have arisen and the specification that has been developed.
In road haulage, transports are interrupted by truck drivers to comply with driving and rest times. On long-distance routes, these interruptions lead to a considerable increase in transport time. Transport interruption can be avoided by so-called relay traffic: a vehicle (e. g. semi-trailer) is handed over to a rested driver at the end of the driving time. This type of transport requires a certain company size. In Germany, however, transport companies have 11 employees on average. Intra-company relay traffic is therefore not economically viable for most transport companies. To organize an intermodal transport across forwarding companies, long-distance routes need to be split into partial routes to divide them between freight forwarders and carriers. This paper presents a data concept for an algorithm to find the best possible route sections along a previously defined start and endpoint. The developed data concept includes order-specific data, forwarder-specific data, real-time traffic data, geographical data as well as data from freight forwarding software and telematics to be the basis for the route sectioning algorithm. In this paper, different data sources, external services and logistic systems are analyzed and evaluated. It is shown which data is needed and what the best ways are to select and derive this data from the different data sources.
Ziel des beantragten Fördervorhabens war es, die kontinuierliche Funktionsüberwachung und insbesondere den heutigen Sensoreinsatz in Verteilnetzen zu revolutionieren, durch Verwendung von Methoden der Künstlichen Intelligenz (KI), gepaart mit einer Verbesserung der zugehörigen Sensortechnik und eingesetzter digitaler Dienstleistungssysteme. Die integrale Betrachtung der wissenschaftlichen und technischen Herausforderungen und deren Bewältigung führten zu den notwendigen Ergebnissen, um den Erfolg der Energie- und Mobilitätswende in Deutschland zu unterstützen.
Mit den Ergebnissen des Vorhabens konnte der heutige Sensoreinsatz in Verteilnetzen durch Verwendung von Methoden der Künstlichen Intelligenz (KI) zusammen mit einer Erweiterung der Sensortechnik grundlegend verbessert werden. Die daraus abgeleiteten Unterziele umfassen alle wichtigen Aspekte des Sensoreinsatzes in elektrischen Betriebsmitteln.
The agricultural industry is facing unprecedented challenges in meeting the growing demand for food while minimizing its impact on the environment. To address these challenges, the industry is embracing technological advancements such as 5G networks to improve efficiency and productivity. However, the benefits of 5G technology must be weighed against the costs of implementing a suitable network. This paper presents cost-benefit dimensions that are needed to assess the economic feasibility of implementing 5G networks for several agricultural applications. The paper describes the costs of deploying and maintaining a 5G network and the benefits of several 5G-specific use cases, including precision agriculture, livestock monitoring, and swarm robotics. Using industry reports and case studies, the model quantifies the benefits of 5G networks, such as enabling new digital agricultural processes, increased productivity, and improved sustainability. It also considers the costs associated with equipment and infrastructure, as well as the challenges of deploying a network in rural areas. The results demonstrate that 5G networks can provide significant benefits to agricultural businesses and provide an overview about the cost factors. Both benefit and cost dimensions are analyzed for the 5G-specific agricultural use cases.
Im Forschungsprojekt „Legitimise IT“ wurde ein einheitlicher Ansatz zur Nutzung von Schatten-IT für produzierende kleine und mittlere Unternehmen (KMU) entwickelt. Dadurch sollen KMU zur kontrollierten Legitimierung nutzenstiftender Schatten-IT unter Berücksichtigung vorhandener Risiken befähigt werden.
Schatten-IT ist in den meisten Unternehmen vorhanden. Durch den unkontrollierten Einsatz von Schatten-IT im Unternehmen entstehen zahlreiche Risiken, welche zu Ineffizienzen und Fehleranfälligkeiten bei den Betriebsabläufen führen können. Dabei wird die Entstehung von Schatten-IT nicht zuletzt durch die Schnelllebigkeit und Vielfalt der technologischen Entwicklungen weiter beschleunigt. Der Ansatz, durch eine strikte Vorgabe der Unternehmensführung lediglich auf genehmigte und zentral verwaltete IT-Anwendungen zurückzugreifen, um Schatten-IT zu unterbinden, hat sich in der unternehmerischen Praxis nicht bewährt. Bisherige Ansätze adressieren nicht die Gründe für die Notwendigkeit von Schatten-IT und bieten keinen organisatorischen und insbesondere technologischen Rahmen, um deren Vorteile unternehmerisch zu nutzen.
Daher wurde im Projekt ein Ansatz entwickelt, der einerseits die aufgezeigten Risiken minimiert und andererseits Mitarbeitenden die notwendigen Freiheiten für eigene, kreative Lösungen bietet. Damit Unternehmen ihre großen Herausforderungen bei der Abschätzung der Risiken- und Nutzenaspekte wie auch beim strikten Verzicht auf die eingesetzten Schatten-IT-Anwendungen bewältigen können, wird eine entsprechende Methodik gefordert.
Methods of machine learning (ML) are difficult for manufacturing companies to employ productively. Data science is not their core skill, and acquiring talent is expensive. Automated machine learning (Auto-ML) aims to alleviate this, democratizing machine learning by introducing elements such as low-code or no-code functionalities into its model creation process. Due to the dynamic vendor market of Auto-ML, it is difficult for manufacturing companies to successfully implement this technology. Different solutions as well as constantly changing requirements and functional scopes make a correct software selection difficult. This paper aims to alleviate said challenge by providing a longlist of requirements that companies should pay attention to when selecting a solution for their use case. The paper is part of a larger research effort, in which a structured selection process for Auto-ML solutions in manufacturing companies is designed. The longlist itself is the result of six case studies of different manufacturing companies, following the method of case study research by Eisenhardt. A total of 75 distinct requirements were identified, spanning the entire machine learning and modeling pipeline.
Die vorliegende Publikation soll dazu dienen, ein aktuelles Stimmungsbild der Industrie zu der Einführung von 5G einzufangen. Dazu wird analysiert, wie eine 5G-Einbindung in bereits bestehende IoT-Plattformen gelingen kann und welche Möglichkeiten zukünftig realisierbar werden. Dazu stellen wir fünf Hypothesen zum Einfluss von 5G auf IoT-Plattformen auf und leiten daraus ein Visionsbild eines 5G-Plattformkonzepts ab. Um den Einfluss der industriellen Einführung der Mobilfunkgeneration 5G auf IoT-Plattformen bewerten zu können, wurden sowohl Visionsbild als auch Hypothesen innerhalb strukturierter Interviews mit IoT-Plattformanbietern diskutiert und aufgearbeitet. Nachdem in Kapitel 2 die relevanten Grundlagen hinsichtlich des neuen Mobilfunkstandards 5G und Plattformen erarbeitet werden, werden in Kapitel 3 die Ergebnisse und Erkenntnisse der Interviews mit den Plattformanbietern zusammengefasst und erörtert. Basierend auf den Interviews geben wir einen Überblick über die konkreten Herausforderungen, das Interesse diverser Stakeholder und die aktuellen Entwicklungen rund um das Thema.
Methods of machine learning (ML) are notoriously difficult for enterprises to employ productively. Data science is not a core skill of most companies, and acquiring external talent is expensive. Automated machine learning (Auto-ML) aims to alleviate this, democratising machine learning by introducing elements such as low-code / no-code functionalities into its model creation process. Multiple applications are possible for Auto-ML, such as Natural Language Processing (NLP), predictive modelling and optimization. However, employing Auto-ML still proves difficult for companies due to the dynamic vendor market: The solutions vary in scope and functionality while providers do little to delineate their offerings from related solutions like industrial IoT-Platforms. Additionally, the current research on Auto-ML focuses on mathematical optimization of the underlying algorithms, with diminishing returns for end users. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview over available, user-friendly ML technology through a descriptive model of the functions of current Auto-ML solutions. The model was created based on case studies of available solutions and an analysis of relevant literature. This method yielded a comprehensive function tree for Auto-ML solutions along with a methodology to update the descriptive model in case the dynamic provider market changes. Thus, the paper catalyses the use of ML in companies by providing companies and stakeholders with a framework to assess the functional scope of Auto-ML solutions.
Seit Beginn des Jahres ist Max-Ferdinand Stroh Leiter des Bereichs Informationsmanagement am FIR. Was ihn antreibt und welche Ziele er und seine Mitarbeiter:innen sich für die kommenden Jahre gesetzt haben, erörtert Max-Ferdinand Stroh im Interview mit der UdZ-Redaktion.
Companies are transforming from transactional sales to providing solutions for their customers. Mostly, smart products, enabling companies to enhance their products by providing smart services to their customers, are a key building block in this transformation. However, the development of a smart product requires many digital skills and knowledge, which regular companies do not have. To facilitate the design and conceptualization of smart products, this paper presents a use-case-based information systems architecture prototype for smart products. Furthermore, the paper features the application and evaluation of the architecture on two different smart product projects. The use of such an architecture as a reference in smart product development serves as a huge advantage and accelerator for inexperienced companies, allowing faster entry into this new field of business. [https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-14844-6_16]
Dieses Forschungs- und Entwicklungsprojekt wurde durch das Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) im Rahmen des Programms „KMU-innovativ: Produktionsforschung“ (Förderkennzeichen 02K19K010) gefördert und vom Projektträger Karlsruhe (PTKA) betreut. Die Verantwortung für den Inhalt dieser Veröffentlichung liegt bei den Autoren.
Industry 4.0 is driven by Cyber-Physical Systems and Smart Products. Smart Products provide a value to both its users and its manufacturers in terms of a closer connection to the customer and his data as well as the provided smart services. However, many companies, especially SMEs, struggle with the transformation of their existing product portfolio into smart products. In order to facilitate this process, this paper presents a set of smart product use-cases from a manufacturer’s perspective. These use-cases can guide the definition of a smart product and be used during its architecture development and realization. Initially the paper gives an introduction in the field of smart products. After that the research results, based on case-study research, are presented. This includes the methodological approach, the case-study data collection and analysis. Finally, a set of use-cases, their definitions and components are presented and highlighted from the perspective of a smart product manufacturer.
Künstliche Intelligenz (KI) hat als Technologie in den vergangenen Jahren Marktreife erlangt. Es existiert eine Vielzahl benutzerfreundlicher Produkte und Services, welche die Anwendung von KI im Alltag und im Unternehmen vereinfachen. Die Herausforderung, vor denen Anwendende, gerade im betriebswirtschaftlichen Kontext, stehen, ist nicht die technische Machbarkeit einer KI-Applikation, sondern deren organisatorisch und rechtlich zulässige Gestaltung. Zu einer zunehmenden Dynamik in der Gesetzgebung kommt ein gesellschaftliches Interesse an der Kontrolle und Transparenz über die für KI-Modelle erhobenen Daten. Die Diskussion über Datensouveränität im geschäftlichen und privaten Alltag rückt mehr und mehr in das Zentrum der öffentlichen Aufmerksamkeit.
Datenbasierte KI-Anwendungen stehen damit in einem Spannungsfeld zwischen den Potenzialen, die das Erheben und Teilen von Daten über Unternehmensgrenzen hinweg bietet, und der Herausforderung, die Datensouveränität der involvierten Personen zu wahren. Die vorliegende Studie soll erstens über die Auswirkungen der Datensouveränität und die damit verbundenen aktuellen und kommenden Regularien auf KI-Anwendungsfälle aufklären. Dafür wurden Expertinnen und Experten aus den Bereichen Recht, KI- und Organisationsforschung befragt. Zweitens zeigt die Studie Potenziale und Best Practices von KI-Anwendungsfällen mit überbetrieblichem Datenaustausch auf. Dafür wurden Fallstudien in Unternehmen durchgeführt, die bereits erfolgreich Datenaustausch in ihre Geschäftsmodelle integriert haben, um ihre KI-Applikationen zu betreiben und zu verbessern.