The aim is to intensify the cooperation between the two partners, which has been in place for more than five years. Based on their long-standing collaboration and intensive dialog, the joint European research project RICAIP, and the close cooperation within the European AI initiative CLAIRE, the DFKI and CIIRC would like to structure their partnership and further expand their cooperation in the field of Artificial Intelligence and INDUSTRIE 4.0, especially industrial AI. One of the core projects will focus on the five main trends of the current phase of INDUSTRIE 4.0: Zero Defect Production, Explainable AI Solutions for Collaboration in Hybrid Human-Robot Teams, Integration of Machine Learning Methods Using Semantics, 5G Communication on the Factory Floor, and Standardization of Production System Software.
The DFKI and CIIRC have already been working closely together since 2016 in researching new opportunities for human-robot collaboration (MRK 4.0) and in the field of INDUSTRIE 4.0. The MRK 4.0 Innovation Lab, which was founded at the time, provides for German and Czech scientists to work together on solutions for human-machine interaction. The lab is not concerned with the development of new types of robots, but exclusively with interaction in human-robot teams. The lightweight robots used come from different manufacturers and have different capabilities. The initial equipment of the innovation lab in Saarbrücken was financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research with 1 million euros.
The objective of the MRK 4.0 innovation lab is the concrete testing and implementation of human-robot collaboration for INDUSTRIE 4.0 in a European context and across national borders. MRK 4.0 focuses on collaborative manufacturing at distributed locations and on the feasibility of the principles of distributed production and remote human-robot collaboration.
Since 2019, the innovation lab has been part of the European research project RICAIP (Research and Innovation Centre on Advanced Industrial Production) and functions therein as an MRK testbed together with its counterparts in Prague and Brno. The objectives of RICAIP include the development and application of virtual and augmented reality for remote industrial production control and systems for rapid adaptation to the customer's current needs and available production resources. In RICAIP, CIIRC CTU and DFKI cooperate with the Center for Automation Technology (ZeMA) in Saarbrücken and the Central European Institute of Technology at Brno University of Technology (CEITEC BUT).
With the "German-Polish-Czech Science Platform”, Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic want to intensify the pooling of forces in research and innovation in order to strengthen Central European innovation regions and provide new impetus for regional development across all of Europe.
Further Reading
- BMBF (08.10.21): German-Polish-Czech conference builds bridges across borders
