Artificial Intelligence in Companies

Institute Director Professor Thomas Bauernhansl with the Care-O-bot® 4. (Source: Fraunhofer IPA/photo: Rainer Bez)

More and more companies are recognizing the potentials that cognitive robots and machine learning methods offer in various business areas.
What these technologies already achieve today and what challenges still exist will be shown at the conference "Smart Machines in Use – Artificial Intelligence in Companies" on October 15th in Stuttgart.

Intelligent algorithms no longer just recommend books on Amazon or movies on Netflix, but are making their way into manufacturing. They monitor the entire production process, ensure that supplies arrive on time, and perform maintenance before a machine breaks down. They control cognitive robots that perform changing tasks and driverless transport vehicles that replace conveyor belts.

You don't have to be a prophet to see that artificial intelligence (AI) will revolutionize entire companies, especially since the emerging weaker economic growth could accelerate this development. Executives should therefore engage with the upcoming upheavals and the potential of AI: What specific applications already exist, and do they fit their own needs and capabilities? What opportunities and risks are there?

Opportunities and Risks of AI

Answers to these questions will be provided at the second conference "Smart Machines in Use – Artificial Intelligence in Companies" on October 15, 2019, at the Fraunhofer IPA in Stuttgart. Experts from research and industry will speak: The event begins with Professor Thomas Bauernhansl providing an overview. The director of the Fraunhofer IPA will discuss "The Digital Transformation of Factories – Wish and Reality".

Followed by practical lectures from Dr. Benjamin Menz, Senior Data Scientist at Bosch Rexroth, who will speak on "Deep Transfer Learning – Scalability of Models in Production," as well as from Professor Marco Huber, head of the Center for Cyber Cognitive Intelligence at Fraunhofer IPA. He will present "Cognitive Production Systems – Artificial Intelligence in Practical Use".

Technology Transfer and New AI Strategies

The subsequent short presentations with panel discussions will focus on technology transfer and new AI strategies. Sebastian Stöcklmeier from Robert Bosch Packaging Technology, for example, will present "Smart Machines in Packaging Technology." Frank Berner, Change Manager for Digitalization at Stihl, will talk about "Data Analysis and Machine Learning in the Equipment Industry".

After joint tours of the test fields and laboratories of Fraunhofer IPA, the afternoon short presentations with panel discussions will focus on experiences with AI innovations in companies and startups, before Professor Marc Toussaint from the University of Stuttgart concludes the conference with his summary and outlook "Thinking was yesterday, learning is today – and tomorrow?" The conference is sponsored by Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, Minister for Economic Affairs, Labor, and Housing of the state of Baden-Württemberg. The journalist and author Ulrich Eberl will moderate the full-day event, organized by the Konradin Media Group in cooperation with Fraunhofer IPA.