Research Council Industrie 4.0 presents Engineering Roadmap – Vision: Self-generating Systems
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Munich, 16 May 2024
With its engineering roadmap the Research Council Industrie 4.0 presents a framework for specific research priorities over the next ten years. These focus topics will be addressed within the specified period: Optimisation of existing factory systems, dynamic adaptability and autonomy. The aim is to achieve competitive, transparent, flexible and value-added production. One decisive aspect is the best possible inclusion of people in Industrie 4.0.
The engineering roadmap was drawn up by members of the Research Council together with a new strategy commission set up in 2023 specifically for this project. Further roadmaps on the topics of “business models” and “the future of work” as well as an overarching strategy paper are still to come.
Suitable methods and techniques must be available in order to achieve the necessary engineering skills in the coming years. The engineering roadmap focuses on the four main topics: “Product and production system development / planning”, “Achieving objectives / quality assurance”, “Information acquisition and use” and “Man, machine and organisation”. Together with the chronological structure, this thematic organisation forms a grid for the arrangement of specific thematic blocks that address important research questions.
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The fourth industrial revolution – like all previous industrial revolutions – will cause major changes. Among other things, this affects value propositions, business models, the way in which people are integrated, but also technical aspects. Engineering must be adapted to the changed requirements. This requires appropriate research, for which this engineering roadmap is intended to provide orientation.
Peter Liggesmeyer (Fraunhofer IESE), spokesperson science of the Research Council Industrie 4.0
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Highly networked, increasingly automated or even autonomous technical systems of Industrie 4.0 require a wide range of new development capabilities in order to enable and guarantee functionally safe and equally sustainable operation. The Engineering Roadmap of the Research Council Industrie 4.0 provides the necessary thematic and temporal impetus and direction for the next ten years.
Rainer Stark (TU Berlin), member of the Research Council Industrie 4.0
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The Engineering Roadmap provides important guidance on the topics that need to be tackled in research over the next ten years. It therefore also provides industry with guidance on the areas in which progress can be expected and where it can get involved at an early stage.
Harald Schöning (Software AG), spokesperson Industry of the Research Council Industrie 4.0
The Engineering Roadmap of the Research Council Industrie 4.0 can be found here.
About the Research Council Industrie 4.0
As a strategic and independent body, the Research Council Industrie 4.0 makes a significant contribution to identifying research-based solutions for the further development and implementation of Industrie 4.0 and thus providing orientation – with the overarching goal of strengthening the German innovation system and value creation. To this end, the Research Council currently brings together 33 representatives from science and industry with their interdisciplinary expertise, formulates new, pre-competitive research impulses and needs, identifies medium to long-term development perspectives and derives options for action for the successful implementation of Industrie 4.0. Research in the field of Industrie 4.0 is increasingly focussing on topics such as sustainability, resilience, interoperability, technological and strategic sovereignty and the central role of people. The work of the Research Council is coordinated by acatech – National Academy of Science and Engineering, supervised by the Project Management Organisation Karlsruhe (PTKA) and funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).