Laying of the foundation stone of the first KI.FABRIK in Bavaria
Copyright Image: Fabian Vogl / TUM
More than probably in any other region in Europe, future technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence, carbon, and even space travel are financially supported in the Greater Munich area. As the CEO of a startup that has already benefited from this several times, statements like "The big ones are subsidized" really hurt me. This is because the priority list includes collaborative projects in which the cooperation of SMEs (such as Franka Emika or Reactive Robotics) with larger companies (such as TQ Systems or BMW) is (co-)financed on an equal footing. Last week, the foundation stone was laid for a lighthouse project at the Deutsches Museum in Munich. The premises formerly housed the Planetarium/ Imax. So after Corona an ideal location for visits. My thanks to Mr. Ulrich Meyer and Ms. Christine Lehner (TU Munich) in preparing the article. The press release explains what it is about:
Robot-assisted industrial work from the home office
The Free State of Bavaria is supporting the Technical University of Munich (TUM) with a total of 15 million euros to develop the first prototype of an AI.FABRIK in Bavaria by 2030 together with a consortium of industrial partners. With the help of artificial intelligence (AI), multifunctional, sensitive robots are to work together with human employees directly or even over long distances.
The robot-assisted groundbreaking ceremony at the Deutsches Museum in Munich was attended, among others, by Minister of Economic Affairs and Deputy Minister President Hubert Aiwanger and TUM President Thomas F. Hofmann. The ten-year lighthouse initiative is part of the State of Bavaria's high-tech agenda and is being implemented at TUM's Munich School of Robotics and Machine Intelligence (MSRM) under the leadership of Prof. Sami Haddadin, Director of MSRM.
Consortium with industry partners
An initial four-year collaborative research and development project at the KI.FABRIK also involves BMW, Franka Emika, Linde Material Handling, Reactive Robotics, TQ-Systems and Wittenstein as consortium partners. The KI.FABRIK will be located in the Deutsches Museum, work in a network with other sites and serve as a showcase for "hands-on AI" in society. A significant difference to previous concepts is the direct physical interaction of the factory's central AI with the factory environment by means of robots and similar systems, as well as the intuitive and transparent connection between humans and machines in the KI.FABRIK by means of wearable technologies, among other things.
TUM President Hofmann emphasized: "In times when the world of work is changing rapidly, the KI.FABRIK opens up an enormous opportunity for Bavaria as a technology location. In the future, AI robots will serve as an extension of our laptops and can be controlled remotely. Such decentralized production reduces the workload for humans in increasingly complex, tedious operations, while enabling greater precision and consistent product quality."
State government sees project as investment in the future
Economics Minister Aiwanger said: "Bavaria is becoming an AI state. Our 15 million euro funding as part of the Hightech Agenda is therefore an excellent investment in the future. An AI.FABRIK for the development of new product ideas and production methods with the help of state-of-the-art AI-supported robotics technology takes Bavaria as a business location to a whole new level. This opens up unprecedented perspectives for research, development and production. Production thus becomes more flexible, without the need for new machines and production halls for new products or the need to relocate capacities abroad. Through easy-to-use apps, every production order can be transmitted to the adaptable KI.FABRIK and controlled individually. This is an important contribution to the local, crisis-proof and economical production of state-of-the-art products here in Bavaria."
Science Minister Bernd Sibler sent a video message: "Artificial intelligence is the key technology of the future. TUM bundles outstanding competencies at MSRM to research, among other things, the significance of new digital technologies for our work. In order to be able to make full use of the new opportunities, it is crucial to transfer the knowledge of science to society. This is precisely the bridge that the new KI.FABRIK is building with its showroom in the Deutsches Museum: here we can experience futurology up close and understand how the technologies work. I am very pleased that today, with the help of funds from the High-Tech Agenda Bavaria, we can lay the foundation stone for this project for the future."
Robot supports ceremony
During the symbolic laying of the foundation stone, a robotic arm placed an engraved stainless steel cylinder, the so-called time capsule, in the foundation stone. The robot was thereby controlled remotely by an employee through teleoperation - symbolic of the future home workplace for factory workers. Prof. Haddadin said, "For us, the AI factory is both a prototype and a research laboratory. It offers scientists and companies alike the opportunity to test and further develop their technologies under 'real' conditions."
A major special feature of the KI.FABRIK initiative compared to established production halls is the multifunctionality of the sensitive machines and robots used there. They can manufacture many different products, even in small quantities, and are not limited to clearly defined motion sequences.
The ceremony took place parallel to the automatica sprint trade fair as part of munich_i, the new AI and robotics high-tech platform for politics, business, science and society.
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The author of this blog is significantly involved in the AI/robotics project Boost-Bot. He advises robotics companies and investors on market (entry)/business development issues. The standard book on cobots is also written by Guido Bruch. More about him can be found here.