In which direction is automation heading?
Interview with Prof. Dr. Henning Trsek and Wolfgang Wiele
With the motto #rethinkAUTOMATION, KEB Automation's portfolio focuses on the question of what automation will look like in the future. Two experts who can provide exclusive insights into this are Prof. Dr. Henning Trsek, Head of the Institute for Industrial Information Technology (inIT) and expert in the field of networked automation systems, and Wolfgang Wiele, Chief Technology Officer at KEB Automation. In a joint interview, they shed light on the importance of networked automation systems and relevant developments for plant and mechanical engineering.
Prof. Trsek, you are the holder of the “Networked Automation Systems” professorship at the TH OWL, endowed by KEB until 2024. What questions and focus areas have you been working on in the research group?
Prof. Dr. Henning Trsek: My research group focuses on the three research areas of information and knowledge modeling, digital twins and cyber security. In our current research projects, we are working on the integration of security information into the administration shell, the digital product passport and the partial automation of security processes (e.g. threat analyses or risk assessments) through the use of artificial intelligence.
What was the reason for KEB's commitment in the form of an endowed professorship? What did you expect from it?
Wolfgang Wiele: At KEB, we started describing the development of industrial automation from the perspective of a component manufacturer around ten years ago. We quickly realized that we needed scientific support in addition to our industrial expertise. That's why we then decided on an endowed professorship at the TH OWL, which came about in 2019.
What advantages do networked automation systems offer in practice?
Trsek: Networked automation systems offer numerous advantages in practice. They increase the efficiency of systems and improve transparency. They also enable the versatile use of operating data for various applications such as optimization and maintenance. Another important aspect is support with the increasing complexity of technical systems, with the digital twin playing a central role.
Wiele: I fully agree with that. Increasing the energy efficiency of systems and machines and the possibilities opened up by the digital twin are decisive advantages. The smart use of the available data and the resulting improved maintenance processes contribute to higher machine availability.
Are there any specific product examples from KEB that have their origins in university teaching?
Wiele: It is important to us that theoretical knowledge is also reflected in practice. This is why the findings from Bachelor's and Master's theses supervised by the endowed professorship are continuously incorporated into our product development.
Trsek: A specific example of a KEB product that has its origins in university teaching is a development platform for microcontrollers. This platform has already been used successfully in our teaching for three years and has proved so successful that KEB has adopted it. It is now also being used as part of the training for dual students.
What trends and developments are you observing in the field of automation technology that will become increasingly important for plant and machine engineering in the future?
Trsek: A key trend in automation technology is the modularization and flexibilization of plant components, which is achieved through the decentralization of classic control functionalities. In our research projects, we pursue skill-based engineering concepts. This means that individual system modules have defined skills or capabilities. These can be flexibly combined, allowing the system to be adapted without the need for costly changes to the engineering project. Capabilities are modeled on the basis of the asset administration shell.
Wiele: The results of the work on the digital twin will significantly improve the commissioning, maintenance and availability of machines and systems. And the data obtained will enable new algorithms whose potential for machine and plant engineering cannot yet be estimated.
Are there any challenges associated with these trends that need to be addressed in particular? And how is KEB meeting them?
Trsek: In the course of these trends, all topics relating to cyber security are becoming increasingly important and must be addressed urgently and comprehensively.
Wiele: Added to this is the lack of well-qualified scientists, engineers and IT experts, which is definitely a challenge. This is why we at KEB have been running a cooperative engineering apprenticeship with TH OWL for more than two decades. We are also proud to have a very good training workshop at KEB for the specialists of tomorrow, which has already won several awards.
