Actemium and Axians make value creation in industry visible at Hannover Messe

VINCI Energies used its presence at Hannover Messe  to demonstrate the benefits that digitally transformed value-added processes bring to the manufacturing industry. The brands Actemium and Axians showed their smart industry solutions at ten demo points in Hall 6, booth G30: One of them demonstrated Smart Safety through a platform that uses VR glasses to train workers in occupational safety. Another featured an intelligent robot that draws on AI to examine the quality of workpieces, while right next to it, a cyberattack on an industrial plant is simulated. Further showcases visualized topics such as Big Data, industrial drones and the digital twin. On Thursday, April 4^th Actemium Smart Industry Day started and brung trade show visitors up to date with the current state of smart industry. Featuring expert keynotes, workshops as well as a panel discussion.

Hannover Messe, which took place from April 1st to 5th 2019,  gathered Germany’s digital pioneers in its trade fair “Digital Factory” in Halls 5 to 8. The companies illustrated their approaches to integrating value-added, data-based processes in the manufacturing industry. Right in the middle of it is VINCI Energies, with its brands Actemium and Axians. Visitors saw demonstrations of numerous concepts such as predictive maintenance, AI-based testing and industrial cyber security, while interactive showcases demonstrate live how implemented applications create digital value.

Highlights at Hannover Messe

The “Smart Safety” showcase proves that safety training can be made exciting and effective. The interactive learning platform uses the immersive effect of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) to teach occupational safety using data goggles or tablets. Visitors can put on VR glasses and try their hand at maintaining an industrial plant that they perceive as real. Among other things, they experience what happens if they forget to take out the fuse. ViewStar i, a solution for automation and plant control that Actemium developed with IoT40 Systems for users in the process industry, will also be on display. Recreating a use case from the oil and gas industry, Actemium will demonstrate the advantages of combining isolated applications, integrating modern data analysis methods – from plant automation to artificial intelligence. The ICT experts of Axians will connect this application with a number of other showcase models to demonstrate the technical possibilities of concepts such as Smart Field Service and Smart Mobile Maintenance.

Further Showcases

• AI-based quality check: A small two-arm robot, ABB Yumi IRB 14000, uses a camera to recognize and pick up workpieces. With the help of AI, YuMi evaluates their quality and then sorts them accordingly. In practice, this significantly increases production quality.
• Industrial Cyber Security at your fingertips: A live demo shows how malware infects an industrial plant. Production continues, but nobody notices that the mixture has changed. Visitors learn how to detect anomalies and protect their enterprises from cyberattacks.
• AI reduces scrap in an extrusion line: An algorithm developed by Axians using IBM Watson technology analyzes – in real time – the quality of plastic material produced, combining a multitude of data from sensors, the manufacturing process, orders, as well as incoming goods inspections. The analysis enables enterprises to detect deviations from target values at a very early stage, thus minimizing their scrap rate.
• Machine Learning – from repair request to spare parts logistics: An application for the aerospace industry visualizes an automated analysis of time-critical requests in repair and maintenance work, resulting in the delivery of the correct spare parts at the right time to the right place.

“We strive to highlight the benefits the digital transformation offers to manufacturers in terms of industrial value creation. To us, only processes that work in practice are relevant,” emphasizes Frank Westphal, CEO of Actemium Germany. “This approach demands that we combine the best of two worlds when it comes to industrial technology and digital transformation. And this is exactly what VINCI Energies, with its system integrators Actemium and Axians, is predestined to do”. Actemium is VINCI Energies’ brand for electrical engineering and automation technology. Their ICT brand Axians is a service provider offering solutions for digital collaboration and cyber security. The combined disciplines of both brands result in an extensive ecosystem for smart industry solutions.