Future Logistics - Center Connected Industry

Future Logistics – Inbound

Globalisation and current developments, such as digitalisation, lead to new requirements, particularly regarding flexibility and individuality of production and logistics.

Using various technological solutions, we develop and test a transparent, adaptive value chain in close cooperation with our members. Additionally, this transparent, adaptive value chain serves as a testbed for interconnecting a variety of technological solutions for data collection, analysis and real-time feedback.

In the long-term, we establish an interoperably networked value-added system with standardised interfaces, offering customised adaptation to the individual applications as well as the roll out of live systems at the push of a button.

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Comarch

Comarch Technologies is a stable multi-service provider and fast-growing technology wing of Comarch Capital Group focused on Internet of Things (IoT), providing comprehensive solutions combining hardware & software and standing out from its competitors in terms of quality, time to market, PoC and production scaling capabilities.

Comarch in cooperation with the RWTH Aachen University is currently developing two research projects which are using Asset Tracking and Industry 4.0 for the E.GO electric car production line for Deutsche Post. We implemented Future Logistic (location-based services) and Real Time Location Service (RTLS) 3.0, which are fully integrated with Comarch IoT Platform, Comarch Smart Lighting and Comarch ERP. These solutions formed a coherent Internet from Production – system which combines ERP software with IoT solutions to optimize the production and logistics process.

In the factory, we have applied maintenance-free ERP systems, operating on a smart production line equipped with a network of devices. This solution allows setting out zones for appropriate workplaces, obtaining and analyzing data, automating and controlling the production process and locating individual components.

Thanks to the implementation of IoT solutions, it is possible to fully supervise all production stages, as well as to effectively manage the production process and control its quality. Analyzing the most up-to-date data from the production line, which takes place in real time, also allows to optimize the process, significantly reduce its costs and minimize staff errors.

In addition, Asset Tracking solution enables tracking the location of intermediates (components) and consequently effective inventory management and security control (the system recognizes employees authorized to reside in a given area). The solution – in combination with the implementation of Comarch Smart Lighting – both contribute to the reduction of production costs and translate into a real increase in the efficiency and profitability of the producer.

Couplink

Digital fleet- and mobile servicemanagement easy and individually adapted to the needs of a company – this is available throughout the hardware independent telematic-solutions by the software provider Couplink Group AG located in Aldenhoven. Their customers are classic logistic companies (e.g. Ruedinger) as well as companies of the disposal (e.g. Veolia), special logistic (e.g. IGEFA), heavy vehicles, courier or service providing sector (e.g. ENGIE).

Implementation of smart sensor-technology to control transportation
Autonomous tracking of damages of the transported goods (with temperature and disruption sensors) while the truck is still driving
Autonomous detection and coupling of trailers
Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) – information added to the supply chain
Arrival-board for an overview of incoming consignment of goods and for planning the production process
Mobile order transmission directly from ERP-System to the vehicles

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DFA

The Demonstration factory is a central part of the Smart Cluster Logistics at RWTH Aachen Campus. Goal is a close connection of real applications, research and education. On one hand we offer production of prototypes and products in preseries. On the other hand the production environment of the Demofactory offers our industry and research partners the unique ability to explore the challenges of Industry 4.0 in real production. Further more the production environment of the factory offers the ideal basis to share the latest findings from practice and research in seminaries and workshops.

The Demonstration factory offers unique possibilities to conduct empirical studies in the field of production management together with partners from university and industry. One core intention is research and implementation of Industry 4.0 with the aim to create a sustainably learning and efficiently collaborating factory. The Demofactory provides a test bed to all partners.

Processes from the warehouse to production and assembly to transportation have been documented and made transparent. The Use Case Demonstrator represents the real process in the factory on a small scale. Using both, existing and new infrastructure such as hard- and software a connected environment is created to perform tracking and tracing tasks. Technologies that are developed and tested on the demonstrator are later transferred to the real production.

DSA

Being an innovative partner for the automotive industry, DSA develops hardware and software solutions for enabling diagnostic processes at all stages of the vehicle life cycle. Our portfolio ranges from offline and over-the-air flash programming and coding of ECUs to guided repair, M2M solutions and remote diagnostics for vehicle fleets. Our Skylyze platform offers customized Big Data analytics for the manufacturing industry.

Initially, the e.Go Kart was equipped with the DSA VCG (Vehicle Connectivity Gateway). The telematics and diagnostic unit VCG establishes a connection between the kart and the Microsoft Azure-based platform. This enables continuous acquisition of telemetry data such as engine power, vehicle speed, voltage and GPS position as well as error codes by continuously sending and storing the data in the Connected Vehicle Platform. The values can be retrieved and processed via a REST interface. In addition, the Connected Vehicle Monitor enables real-time visualization of the data. Additional sensors (e.g. NFC, tire pressure, etc.) can also be integrated.

Insight into the status and position of vehicles in a fleet is now possible. Comprehensive real-time monitoring of operating data in combination with data analysis and predictive maintenance can thus create transparency in the value chain.

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Ericsson

Ericsson is the world leader in communications technology and services with headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. Ericsson’s network technology handles 40 percent of the world’s mobile phone traffic. With 21 publicly announced 5G deals with mobile network operators around the world and around 50 Memoranda of Understanding, Ericsson is one of the pioneers of 5G deployment.

Ericsson has installed a 5G non-public network for industries at the Center Connected Industry (CCI) in Aachen, Germany. This 5G non-public network for industries enables CCI partners to wirelessly connect robots, AGVs, sensors and other manufacturing devices to application servers and backend systems. With this Ericsson provides an essential component for the execution and validation of Industry 4.0 Use Cases in the CCI, as this connectivity allows data to be retrieved from any connected device in the factory floor and processed in real time. With this feature, the factory operator is always able to get a complete picture of what is happening in production. 5G is therefore a key technology for the industry 4.0 vision of flexible and adaptive production.

Hammer

We perceive ourselves as a logistics manufactory in the classic sense, because we deliver exactly the transport, warehousing and value added solutions required by our customers!

With precise processes designed exactly according to your wishes – integrated, economical and fast. With traditional values and always in line with state-of-the-art technology offered on the market. From pure transport solutions up to complex logistics strategies – along the entire supply chain.

Through the project future logistics we intend to stay at the forefront of technology and hope to take part in future developments.

As a primary goal we intend to increase quality, flexibility and speed along the entire supply chain through new digital possibilities.

PSI

PSI Automotive & Industry GmbH

For over 30 years, PSI Automotive & Industry GmbH has been providing state-of-the-art solutions for the automotive and vehicle manufacturing, machinery and plant engineering industries. PSIpenta completely optimizes the value-added processes at every production and detailed planning level. In addition to traditional medium-sized companies, PSI assists companies that want to integrate a system into their existing IT landscape that increases production and / or maintenance process efficiency

PSI – MES System Solution for the Future Logistics Project

The system solution consists of the following components:
PSIpenta/MES: The PSI Manufacturing Execution System for seamless control of the manufacturing processes. The MES core consists of a workflow engine (powered by camunda) taking care of business logic execution. Various packages are plugged onto the MES core via the PSI Integration Server:

ERP Package: Interface MES – ERP PSIpenta for data import and synchronization of system states
Warehouse Package: Interface to request material from the Warehouse Management System PSIwms
Frontend Package: Provides and controls the shopfloor cockpit
Traceability Package: Provides functionality for traceability and the production book
Scheduling Package: Interface to exchange scheduling information with PSIasm
Transport Package: Interface to the CCI IoT – Platform platform to receive RFID scan information indicating that input material has arrived at the work station+

Added Value Due To Implementation:

Seamless traceability over the manufacturing process as input for the whole logistics chain

More about industrial intelligence

PSI FLS Fuzzy Logik & Neuro Systeme GmbH was founded in 1992 and is a company in the PSI Software Group since 2008. The company offers qualitative system solutions in various industries, from the automotive industry to the chemical industry. PSI FLS has offices in Dortmund and Munich as well as installations worldwide. Global customers are BMW, Continental and Volkswagen.

The principle of Qualicision as a central basic module for solving multi-criteria problems is based on extended fuzzy logic and supports individual decision making under consistent consideration of goal conflicts in business processes to be optimized. For this purpose priorities of the decision criteria are defined and the processes are optimized according to the specification of the highest priority. Qualicision supports the decision maker and reduces the decision options by analyzing the conflict to the alternatives that are relevant.

The technology Deep Qualicision learns data correlations from historicized data by qualitative labeling so that they can be used for prognoses and for predictive control of business processes. Thus, only if data are in a suitably prepared, i.e. labeled form, they can be used for further machine learning procedures and more in-depth forecast-oriented analyses. This key advantage makes the difference between ordinary Business Intelligence (BI), which only describes business process data after the fact, and data processing that is suitable for Artificial Intelligence (AI).

More about qualicision

SICK

SICK is one of the world’s leading producers of sensors and sensor solutions for industrial applications. The company, which was founded in 1946 by Dr. Erwin Sick and has its headquarters in Waldkirch im Breisgau near Freiburg in Germany, is among the technology market leaders. With more than 50 subsidiaries and equity investments as well as many agencies, SICK has a presence all over the world. SICK achieved Group sales of about EUR 1.6 bn. in the 2018 fiscal year with almost 10,000 employees worldwide.

SICK supplies sensor systems and solutions for the Future Logistics projects. In details, the appropriate sensors for data acquisition of track & trace data (1D / 2D or RFID). The data is transmitted with newly developed interfaces in the project, via Private LTE/ 5G in the project IT infrastructure.

By specifically use of different sensor technologies, data is taken along the production and logistics process and partly transmitted via 5G / Private LTE. The collected data is then analyzed and combined and is the basis for downstream processes in the various operational systems.

The appropriate sensor technology is used at relevant points in the process to create production transparency in the material flow.