The Research Council of the Plattform Industrie 4.0

Background

Industrie 4.0 refers to the intelligent networking of machines and processes for industry with the help of information and communication technology. The Research Council (in German: Forschungsbeirat) serves as an independent strategic committee for Industrie 4.0 by giving research-based advice to the Plattform Industrie 4.0, its working groups and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Under the leading role of acatech it was founded in 2013, then called “Wissenschaftlicher Beirat”. Today, approximately 30 science and industry representatives build up the Research Council to accompany the Plattform Industrie 4.0 in its scientific, research and development expertise. Moreover, the Research Council cooperates closely with the working groups of the Plattform Industrie 4.0.

Objectives

The Research Council supports the Plattform Industrie 4.0 in the further development of Industrie 4.0 and in the pre-competitive planning of its implementation within the German economy. The members of the Research Council observe the development of Industrie 4.0 and the combined performance of industrial applications and ecosystems. Based on further analyses, upcoming research topics and pre-competitive recommendations regarding Industrie 4.0 are published and addressed to interest groups, e.g. research institutions, enterprises, industrial communities and politics. Due to this knowledge transfer, the Research Council can be considered as a multiplier of Industrie 4.0 developments to the industrial sector, in particular to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Interdisciplinary Focus

The members´ interdisciplinary backgrounds include expertise in production, automation, computer science, law and sociology of work. Based on this interdisciplinarity, the members of the Research Council intensively analyse the development of numerous thematic fields of Industrie 4.0. They carry out studies and sub-projects on technological guidelines, tools and methods for the implementation of Industrie 4.0, through to economic, legal and social questions, such as:

• Industrie 4.0 und das Recht (available in German)
• Wandlungsfähige, menschzentrierte Strukturen in Netzwerken und Fabriken der Industrie 4.0 (available in German)
• Engineering smarter Produkte und Services (available in German)
• Einordnung der Beispiele der Industrie-4.0-Landkarte in die Anwendungsszenarien (available in German)
• Vorstudie zur Entwicklung einer bedarfs- und nutzergerechten KMU-Unterstützung zur Einführung und Anwendung von Industrie 4.0 (available in German)
• Akzeptanz und Attraktivität der Industriearbeit 4.0 (available in German)
• Faster to Market Success. Memorandum of the Plattform Industrie 4.0 Research Council for a More Agile and Flexible Innovation System in Germany (available in English and German)

Further information

Information Flyer: Research Council of the Plattform Industrie 4.0 (available in German)
Plattform Industrie 4.0
Research Council Industrie 4.0 – Phase I (available in German)