Hello digital twin: acatech Senate discusses the outlook for the digital transformation
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Munich, 25 July 2022
On 15 July, acatech President Reinhard Ploss and acatech Senate member and CEO of the host company Siemens AG, Roland Busch, welcomed members of the acatech Senate to its annual meeting in Munich. The meeting’s theme was smart connectivity in the industrial, infrastructure, mobility, energy and healthcare sectors. The evening reception began with a welcome address from Bavarian State Minister for Federal Affairs and the Media and Head of the Bavarian State Chancellery, Florian Herrmann, in which he saluted acatech for bringing together the most brilliant minds in the fields of research, engineering and economics and stressed that excellence and innovation are key to Bavaria’s future.
In their opening addresses, Reinhard Ploss and Roland Busch set the scene for the afternoon’s presentations and use cases. The world is changing in the face of current crises like the coronavirus pandemic and long-term global challenges such as climate change. Digital connectivity is key to overcoming these challenges. Industry, mobility, healthcare and many other sectors need to become more efficient, user-friendly and resilient. It is also important to leverage the opportunities of a platform economy. While Europe has lost out to China and the US in the B2C market, there is still everything to play for in the industrial sector. The development of the industrial metaverse will be critical, since it will take collaboration to the next level and allow innovation to take place at the same speed as software development today. The industrial metaverse is based on digital twins that allow physical reality to be rendered photorealistically and in real time in a virtual environment.
A sustainable digital transformation
Reinhard Ploss believes it is vital to ensure that technological change is guided by global challenges and social trends. How can we achieve a sustainable digital transformation? The acatech President discussed this question with Christina Raab (Market Unit Lead for Accenture Germany, Switzerland and Austria), Peter Körte (Chief Technology & Strategy Officer, Siemens AG) and Stephan Kaulbach (Head of Data Intelligence Center, Deutsche Bahn AG). One of the main topics in the discussion was how to shape the digital transformation of companies not just for people, but with them. It is important to support initiatives, provide space for experimentation with new concepts and allow good ideas to grow. Compared to other parts of the world, German culture is very focused on doing things thoroughly and perfectly – sometimes to the detriment of getting them done quickly. Stephan Kaulbach showed that there is another way, citing the example of a rail employee who developed an app-based solution for a specific routine task in his work. The discussion concluded that creative solutions, successful applications and use cases are helping to make digital innovations attractive.
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Experiencing the digital twin
Dirk Hartmann (Technical Lead, Company Core Technology Simulation and Digital Twin, Siemens AG) explained the significance of digital twins to the Senate members. Digital twins precisely replicate the real world, bringing a whole new level of detail to analyses and projections. The mathematician and Siemens “Inventor of the Year 2021” is a pioneer of simulation technology who is working on applications for industrial production. He concluded his presentation by inviting participants to visit the display showcasing digital twins for the manufacturing and process industry.
Global supply chains under pressure
At a time when global supply chains are still being disrupted by the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, Russia’s war on Ukraine and the sanctions imposed by the West in response to the invasion have put extra pressure on supply chains and on our food, resource and energy supply. acatech President Jan Wörner called for more resilient energy systems and value networks. He led the team behind the recent IMPULSE publication “Security, Resilience and Sustainability”, in which acatech contributes to the debate. Wörner explained that resilience is essential even if it does cost money. It is not just about building in redundancies – resilience can be strengthened even further by transforming vulnerable supply chains into supply networks. While a supply chain is disrupted if one link in the chain breaks, flexible supply networks can provide alternative solutions. Innovation networks are also more resilient than innovation chains. All in all, it is vital to build strategic sovereignty by avoiding unilateral dependencies in critical areas. In a discussion moderated by Frank Riemensperger, panellists Sabine Klauke (Chief Technical Officer, Airbus SE), Klaus Staubitzer (CPO and Head of Supply Chain, Siemens AG) and Jan Wörner came to the conclusion that there is more to strengthening resilience that simply increasing the number of redundancies – creating networks is also key. Consequently, digital connectivity and the ability to render complex processes support resilience, making it easier to respond to crisis events by providing a transparent picture of every detail of supply and value networks.
Digital sovereignty and data spaces
According to former acatech President and honorary Senate president Karl-Heinz Streibich, it is much harder for digital companies to industrialise than it is for industrial companies to adopt digital technology. Industrial enterprises are thus much better positioned than digital companies for the next stage of digitalisation, where physical and digital value creation will merge. One way for industrial companies to make the most of this advantage is by engaging in pre-competitive collaboration with regard to the use of data. acatech’s former President cited the Mobility Data Space as a blueprint for pre-competitive data use collaboration. The Mobility Data Space enables cooperation between private and public mobility suppliers and service providers. acatech intends to support the development of other data spaces based on this model as an independent, impartial partner. During the Senate meeting, participants had the opportunity to learn about the initiative’s work at the Mobility Data Space stand.
Digital twins bring new opportunities to the healthcare sector
Brainlab CEO Stefan Vilsmeier used the example of neurodegenerative disorders to illustrate the value of data in the healthcare sector. Comparing the neuronal data of Parkinson’s patients makes it possible to improve the precision of deep brain stimulation, a technique that can help to treat Parkinson’s disease by alleviating motor symptoms such as stiffness in the hands. Data can also be used to improve the personalisation and effectiveness of cancer treatments.
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But it isn’t just about what the technology can do. In the healthcare sector, it is particularly important for patients, healthcare professionals and healthcare authorities and regulators to have a shared understanding of what data can be used for and of data privacy. An intergenerational data release contract is needed so that everyone can contribute to better healthcare. Stefan Vilsmeier argued that users should be able to make their own transparent decisions about which data they are or are not willing to share and which healthcare actors they are willing to share it with.
Digital intelligence will be key to the energy systems of the future
Smart, connected electricity grids are key to enabling a successful energy transition. Sabine Erlinghagen (CEO Grid Software, Siemens AG) cited two statistics that highlight their importance. The number of grid connections is set to increase sevenfold by 2030, not least due to the large number of new electric vehicles plugging into the grid. Intelligent software can also help to reduce the amount of energy wasted in the transport sector. In the EU alone, the potential energy savings are equivalent to the output of ten power plants. Smarter power grids are thus key to ensuring a stable and efficient energy supply in the age of renewables. Digital twins also enable better fault analysis, forecasting, control and responses to adverse events. In short, they help to make energy systems more resilient.
A round-up of the event
The discussions were summed up by acatech’s co-Presidents and Roland Busch. The Siemens CEO emphasised the huge pressure for change that currently exists. He argued that technology itself does not change the world or make it a better place – it is the people who develop and use technology who really drive progress. He was optimistic that Germany and its international partners can overcome the challenges facing them – we have the know-how and a unique landscape of large enterprises and smaller, innovative companies. It will now be vital to build strong innovation ecosystems, platforms and partnerships. As an impartial partner with excellent links to science and industry, acatech is well placed to promote this collaboration.
Reinhard Ploss responded by saying that, in addition to providing advice on science and technology questions, acatech will continue to support the establishment of partnerships and the corresponding structures. He also noted that public engagement is equally important, and that the public debate should focus more on change and on how we can create a good future together. Jan Wörner added that the changes will need to be actively supported by the whole of society. The transition and the road towards strategic sovereignty must be approached as a collective endeavour if they are to have a sound social basis.
Armin Grunwald and Florian Herrmann speak at the Senate reception
After a busy afternoon session, the Senate members had the opportunity to socialise with members of the Academy and guests from the world of politics at the Senate reception. The reception began with a welcome address from Bavarian State Minister for Federal Affairs and the Media and Head of the Bavarian State Chancellery, Florian Herrmann, in which he saluted acatech for bringing together the most brilliant minds in the fields of research, engineering and economics. He looked back on more than 20 years of close partnership between the Academy and the state of Bavaria where it has its headquarters, and stressed that excellence and innovation are key to Bavaria’s future.
The dinner speech given by philosopher and member of the German Ethics Council and of acatech’s Executive Board, Armin Grunwald, spanned technology, society and government and asked some fundamental questions about the future of digitalisation.
His speech took the form of a fairytale in four parts. The story told of a “distant land” where peace, growing prosperity and stability had reigned for decades – and where the people had grown rather complacent. The country was then hit by a succession of crises – a pandemic, a war and environmental disasters. Slowly, the land awoke from its slumber. People started to question their comfortable old ways and sprang into action, actively shaping their future with eyes and minds open to new alternatives, with realism and humility, but also with confidence. The fairytale had a happy ending. According to Armin Grunwald, it remains to be seen whether our current reality pans out quite so happily, but the opportunity is there and it is up to us to take it.