The "VABA 4.0" project consortium aims to develop a tool that will help SMEs make an initial selection of suitable Industry 4.0 technologies.
Fürsteneck Fotografie | Fraunhofer IPA
As part of the "VABA 4.0" research project, an IT tool is being developed under the direction of Fraunhofer IPA’s Bayreuth-based Project Group Regenerative Production, which assists SMEs to introduce Industry 4.0. The kick-off meeting took place in Bayreuth, Germany, on 27 July. The tool is intended to examine both technological and economic aspects and analyse the new technologies in terms of cost, benefits and risks. The user is first assessed to see how far the user has already progressed in applying Industry 4.0. During the assessment, aspects of the digital workplace of the future or types of human-machine interaction are considered, for example. The tool then makes an initial selection of technologies and applications and indicates the appropriate strategic direction to the user.
During the two-year period, the consortium will first determine suitable strategies and application scenarios for partners from industry. These strategies and application scenarios are then to be converted into assessment logic on which to base the tool. From a technical standpoint, the tool is to run on web-based open platforms. In addition to Fraunhofer IPA, Fraunhofer FIT’s Project Group Business & Information Systems Engineering and eight companies from the Upper Franconian region of Germany are conducting research in the consortium. The project is funded by the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Media, Energy and Technology as part of its Information and Communication Technology Programme. VDI/VDE-IT is the sponsor.