acatech member Albert Albers on new ways of thinking in the engineering sciences

1. Prof. Albers, you have been very active for acatech in recent years as spokesperson and deputy spokesperson of the Product Development and Production Network. What motivates you as an acatech member? What is important to you?

I am convinced that the engineering sciences can and must make a very significant contribution to the positive shaping of the future of our society and indeed of the entire planet. For engineers, shaping means creating new technical solutions in the context of socio-technical systems through synthesis. This is the core of product development and design, the field in which I have been researching for more than 25 years. And it is also the focus of our Product Development and Production Thematic Network at acatech. Bringing together research and application in companies in an efficient network and stimulating new research is the main motivation for my engagement.

2. You have published the acatech IMPULS Rethinking and Reframing Engineering. What is this initiative about?

With this impulse I have tried to present and explain the complex topic of Advanced System Engineering (ASE) in a generally understandable way. Advanced System Engineering is a holistic approach to successfully tackle the synthesis and validation of modern cyber-physical systems by combining the various skills required from mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and computer science. ASE is more than a method or a process. It is a new way of thinking that combines deep technical expertise with the necessary interdisciplinary networking and puts people and teamwork at the centre. As I like to say, we cannot use 20th century methods to meet the challenges of 21st century product development!

3. You are a member of the Management Committee of the new Collaborative Research Centre 1608 “Consistency in the View-Based Development of Cyber-Physical Systems (Convide)”. What is the aim of Convide?

Cyber-physical systems (CPS) combine the physical and virtual worlds in their solutions by creating a seamless connection to and between technical systems in a symbiosis of actuators, sensors, computers and networks. Modern vehicles are a prime example. One challenge in the development of CPS is its high degree of complexity and interdisciplinarity, resulting from the networking of a large number of mechanical, electronic and IT subsystems, which have to be developed using a large number of models and processes. Keeping these models, processes and sub-solutions consistent for the numerous developers involved in the ongoing development process is one of the biggest challenges in modern product development. In the CONVIDE CRC, we want to tackle this problem with a very strong team from computer science, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering with new solutions based on the methods of ASE, software engineering and the formal methods of computer science. I am sure that the results will have a significant impact on the methods and processes of future product development in companies.