STILL conneXXt Nr. 01 English

11 AUGMENTED REALITY Another major topic for the evolving communication between humans and machines serves as a link between private life and industry:augmented reality. Google Glass and Microsoft HoloLens are two well-known examples of data goggles which are soon to be released and which will enhance our field of vision with digital projections. Architects will be able to project a 3D model of the plans for a new building onto a table, engineers will be able to immerse themselves in a virtual world of the cylinders and gear wheels of a newly developed engine, whilst doctors will be able to dissect a virtual heart. I SPY WITH MY LITTLE EYE... The potential for augmented reality technology is tremendous, especially in terms of order picking operations. A large proportion of warehouses around the world still pick orders using lists printed out on paper despite the fact that paper-based approaches are, by nature, more likely to be inaccurate and take a longer time to complete. Renowned companies such as KNAPP, SAP and Ubimax are currently testing systems based on data goggles which are capable of real-time object recognition, reading barcodes and providing indoor navigation as well as connecting to local warehouse management systems. By using a system of this kind, ware- house operatives are able to project a list of goods as well as the optimum path through the warehouse directly onto their field of vision. The items to be picked can be visually highlighted and the system can automatically save information on everything that is picked. Field tests have revealed that the error rate can be significantly reduced in this way. Implementing this technology can also have huge benefits when it comes to planning the ideal warehouse infrastructure. Projecting various warehouse designs into an empty warehouse and walking around it as if they were real is absolutely no problem for the existing technology, so there is no need to wait for anything else to be developed. MACHINES OR HUMANS? Whenever intelligent machines, automated systems and autonomous vehicles are mentioned, the question that is often raised is whether these types of machines will eventually replace us humans. In some areas at least, this may well turn out to be the case. One example of this is Schunk GmbH, a manufacturer of clamping and gripping technology, where a robotic hand is currently being developed which is sensitive enough to operate a rechargeable drill. However, examples like this are more uncommon than you would perhaps think. Many experts believe that there will be no threat to the existence of the more than 180,000 industrial workers employed in Germany alone throughout this transition which is taking place. “NO DESERTED FACTORIES” Most industrial workers will continue to have a job and this is a point which experts from the world of science are all quite confident about. “Deserted factories are part of a vision which simply won’t come true,” emphasises Josephine Hofmann in an interview with German daily newspaper Der Tagesspiegel. Amongst other areas, Hofmann is con- ducting research at the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering and Organisation into the flexibility of the working world. Service providers working at their PCs and in their offices have been affected by changes imposed on them over a long period of time; similar changes will now also start to have an impact on industrial workers. As is the case in both scenarios, the working environment will adapt and it will be people who are the driving force behind this: “Jobs will be lost, but at the same time, new ones will be created. There will also be new professions in the future which we haven’t even heard of yet,” the researcher explains. MACHINES AND HUMANS! Far from casting us aside, machines will actually complement humans and provide us with support in a significantly increasing number of areas. Industry insiders see the next revolution of robotics in HRC systems. HRC stands for human-robot collaboration and more and more sectors within the industry, but above all the automotive industry, are turning to a new form of collaboration between humans and machines. Audi, for example, has an HRC system called PART4you, which consists of a robotic arm which passes the required parts and tools to workers. OUTLOOK FOR INTRALOGISTICS As a global player in the industry, it is only natural for STILL to be pondering the question of how humans and machines can work together in the future world of intralogistics. In fact, it forms a central aspect of the concept vehicle STILL cubeXX, which was first presented back in 2011. One of its features is that it is an incredibly versatile and flexible industrial truck which can be operated both manually and automatically and can transform itself into various types of truck. The truck can be operated with an iPad when under automatic operation. Due to the fact that these tablets are relatively delicate and flimsy devices to face the sometimes harsh conditions of everyday life in a warehouse, STILL brought the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML) on board as a partner. Researchers at the institute developed the coaster – a robust operating unit about the size of a beer mat with tangible buttons which have a pressure point that can be clearly felt. This enables the coaster to be operated even if the user is wearing gloves. HRC (human-robot collaboration) systems are big news in the world of robotics. This image shows the PART4you system used by car manufacturer Audi: a robotic arm passes the required tools and other items to workers. Photo: AUDI AG With its cubeXX concept study first presented in 2011, STILL set the course for Industry 4.0 within intralogistics. TITLE STORY

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