Every year, the Karlsruhe Technology Region Innovation Award honors outstanding ideas on a current topic of the future and makes them visible to a broad audience. This year, NEO2021 is looking for outstanding examples of transformation in companies. From a total of 26 applications submitted, five lighthouse examples were nominated and, in addition to gaining attention, also have the chance to win prize money of 20,000€. Among the finalists are the Institute Industrial IT (inIT) of TH OWL and Fraunhofer IOSB-INA with a jointly developed assistance system.
The nominated system provides digital information in a physical environment on various devices such as data glasses, smartphones, tablets or augmented reality projections.
"The future of work will change fundamentally, particularly as a result of growing digitization. Low-skilled workers and people with disabilities in particular are facing considerable challenges as a result of this transformation process. With the strategic cooperation of both institutes, we want to be one step ahead of this development and bundle our expertise in the field of industrial assistance systems," says Prof. Carsten Röcker, deputy institute director at inIT and group leader for assistance systems at Fraunhofer IOSB-INA. The system supports people in work processes in increasingly complex environments and guides them through production processes, for example, by projecting relevant texts, graphics or video sequences for a production step directly onto the workstation.
The newly developed system focuses on enabling people to perform more complex, varied activities and promoting the acquisition of skills. Changes in job structures and the associated competence requirements for employees in workshops and also for employees in industry are creating an increasingly high need for technical assistance.
An expert jury with representatives from science, business and politics will decide on the winner on November 26. In the lead-up to the award ceremony, a specialized symposium with the keynote address "New Business Models of Traditional Companies - 7 Hurdles to Successful Transformation" by Prof. Steffen Kinkel, Head of the Institute for Learning and Innovation in Networks (ILIN) at Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, will provide insights into the barriers to developing new business models. In the subsequent panel discussion, the question "How does business transformation succeed?" will be debated.
The hybrid event will take place on-site at the Badischer Gemeinde-Versicherungs-Verband and will also be digitally livestreamed. You can register here: www.trk.de/neo2021