Berlin to go, english edition 1/2015

DISCUSSION
And what is GE working on in this area?
CH: Our core research areas cover an enormously wide range of
subjects, from aero- and thermodynamics, imaging techniques
in medicine, to automation and robotics in manufacturing.
With the latter, one of the priorities is “adaptive manufacturing”
whereby production robots are equipped with a variety
of sensors so they can adapt to the specific machining requirements
of each individual component. This, of course, is closely
related to such current concepts as “Brilliant Factory” and
“Industry 4.0”.
What issues are currently being discussed with respect to
“Industry 4.0”?
CH: The aspect that is most often the focus of discussion in
Germany is the optimization of production processes in industrial
manufacturing, the key objectives of which are reducing
costs and increasing productivity. This could be considered an
extension of the digitization and automation of production,
which has been of interest to us for quite some time. The next
wave of digitization, however, will be much more radical and
comprehensive than anything we have seen thus far. Each individual
product will be paired with a so-called digital twin, which
will accompany the product from the raw material stage, on
through design, production and operation, all the way to disposal
and recycling. This digital twin will document a product’s
Carlos Härtel speaking with
Berlin to go.
entire life cycle, creating a
treasure trove of information
that can be used to make
quantum leaps in the development
of basic technologies and
manufacturing processes.
Let‘s take Berlin as an example.
How would the “Industrial
Internet” be applied there?
CH: Everyday examples that
are frequently mentioned
include networked street lighting
equipped with sensors so
the brightness of the lights
is not only adjusted according to the time of day, but also
according to the type and intensity of traffic. Or sensors that
identify available parking spots, thereby providing municipal
parking guidance systems with needed information. These
are the types of “Industrial Internet” applications that we’re
sure to see in Berlin in a few years’ time. Of course there’s
one obvious problem involved in the use of this technology
in the public sphere: data privacy. In industry, the situation
is, of course, somewhat different, since the data is primarily
technical and not personal in nature.
12 BERLIN TO GO