Artistic portraits in real time
The eventful day at SmartFactoryOWL began with the AI photo box. Under the motto "Creativity in real time", the artificial intelligence (AI) created artistic portraits in just a short time. "It was a highlight of the event and attracted numerous visitors who were looking for a unique visual experience!" says Julian Bültemeier, research associate at inIT. Using so-called neural style transfer technology, countless photos were transformed into impressive works of art, e.g. in the style of van Gogh, Munch or Kandinsky. People chose their favourite artistic styles, smiled into the camera and took their personal masterpieces home directly as a download on their mobile phone or by email. In addition, inIT's current research in the field of document security and the dangers of using AI were a frequent topic of conversation.
Successful hands-on event: the soldering workshop
For those who wanted to create something with their own hands, the soldering workshop was just the thing. Whether young or old, novice or professional: everyone could take part in this hands-on event. Under the guidance of inIT employee Sergej Grunau and his student assistants Abilash and Ashan, small clothes pegs fitted with LEDs were soldered together. Beforehand, however, the visitors had to laser the template, drill holes and put the individual parts together themselves. This station was also a complete success and went down particularly well with the children.
Popcorn at the touch of a button
Another stand, which was supervised by inIT trainees Jannik Peters and Tim Esau, was the popcorn machine. Visitors were able to see how popcorn is made from corn kernels at the touch of a button, from delivery to production. "Using the individual modules that make up the popcorn machine, we were able to present a clear example of industrial communication to those interested," says apprentice Tim Esau. Here, too, interesting conversations arose time and again, often about the future optimisation of the popcorn machine. In addition to people who like to eat popcorn, this station was particularly attractive for people interested in studying computer science. The decisive factor here is that the machine is constantly being further developed and used as a learning environment.
Everyone involved in the inIT team agrees: "The open day was a complete success again this year! We were able to hold numerous discussions with visitors and give them an insight into inIT's research work. We took away countless positive impressions from this year's Open Factory Day. The collaboration with our colleagues was simply great fun. That's why we're already looking forward to next year!"