The NORTEC in Hamburg is one of the most important trade fairs for production and therefore a date that all companies and interested parties typical for the industry mark thickly in their calendars. This year, the motto of the trade show was "Future? Runs!". Not only did the 430 or so exhibitors find a place, but a campus for small and medium-sized businesses was also created. The aim of the Campus was to make keywords, such as "digital transformation", tangible for involved companies, especially from the mechanical and plant engineering sector.
The Institute for Industrial Communication (inIT), together with Fraunhofer IOSB-INA under the flag of SmartFactoryOWL, had the goal of increasing the visibility of the research and transmitter location "Campus Lemgo". After a mixed start with weak visitor numbers on Tuesday, the number of trade fair visitors increased significantly over the next two days. "We were able to hold many interesting discussions with interested parties from research and industry and make some contacts," reports Alexander Kuhn, research associate at inIT.
Kuhn was also given the opportunity to present the SmartFactoryOWL with the two research institutes in the auditorium of the exhibition center on the third day of the trade fair under the motto "Factory of the Future - Shaping Digitization Together". The focus here was, among other things, on current topics of digital transformation, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and wireless communication (5G), as well as on the design of human-centered work in the context of Industry 4.0.
From the general feedback from visitors, the trade fair project management and the press, overall positive feedback can be drawn. "We were already approached ahead of time on Friday and invited to present a lecture or even a series of lectures at the next NORTEC 2022 as well. We also received a great deal of approval and a lot of praise and interest for how we live the cooperation between research and practical application at the Lemgo site," Kuhn is pleased to report.