Focus topic Production

Development of future-proof solutions for industrial environments

Smart manufacturing solutions for modern industrial processes

fortiss shapes the future of industrial technology by developing flexible manufacturing and intelligent production solutions to ensure sustainable competitiveness for companies in a dynamic market environment. Our interdisciplinary approach combines cutting-edge research with practical engineering to realize innovative and future-proof systems for industrial applications.

By addressing current challenges in the manufacturing industry, such as resource scarcity and changing market demands, we enable companies to increase efficiency, flexibility, and resilience. Whether through advanced automation, intelligent system integration, or collaborative robotics – fortiss is a driving force for the next generation of industrial innovations.

Research expertise in industrial manufacturing

Use Case

Comprehensive solutions for advanced manufacturing

Use Case

Resilient manufacturing with seamless data integration

Use Case

Flexible and adaptive manufacturing systems

Use Case

Integrated human-robot collaboration in manufacturing

Use Case

Comprehensive solutions for advanced manufacturing

Machine learning and knowledge representation are transforming manufacturing by enabling data-driven analytics and automated systems, thereby improving efficiency, flexibility, and quality.

Competencies

Comprehensive coverage of all development phases – from requirements and modeling to implementation, analysis, and testing – ensuring adherence to stringent industry standards, supported by structured approaches such as Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) to ensure quality and efficiency criteria are met.

Technical assistance systems integrate design, engineering, and production, leveraging semantic interoperability for efficient data exchange, streamlined workflows, and real-time decision-making across the product lifecycle.

By combining simulated tests with real production data, we create a realistic testing environment. This technology enables precise fault detection, optimization of production workflows, and maximization of system efficiency.

Digital twin technology enables simulations and the exchange of relevant production data. It supports the optimization of manufacturing processes, shortens iteration cycles, and enhances precision in planning, control, and development within production.

Building on the optimization capabilities of Digital Twin technology, which enables simulations and data exchange for manufacturing processes, research combining semantic knowledge and machine learning enhances automated production. This integration allows for flexible task deployment, autonomous operation, and KPI evaluation, ensuring reduced downtime and optimized workflows.

Creation of complex scenario-based test cases using advanced algorithms, machine learning and model-based techniques to dynamically generate comprehensive production test cases.

Edge computing and AI minimize latency, deliver real-time insights, and enable adaptive, data-driven decisions. Context-aware systems enhance transparency and responsiveness to changes in dynamic production environments.

 

Advanced ML and semantic knowledge is combined to analyze process data in real time to identify patterns and predict failures, enabling proactive maintenance and optimizing workflows for efficient, uninterrupted production.

Advanced data integration and real-time analytics unlock enterprise data’s potential, enabling predictive decisions, system connectivity, and adaptive production workflows to enhance robustness and responsiveness.

Reference projects

ACRA4DT

AI-powered anomaly detection in production using context-rich digital twins

In the ACRA4DT project (automated configuration of robots and analytics in I4.0 with digital twins), researchers are creating additional context for anomaly…
BaSys4Transfer

System architecture for the fourth industrial revolution

How can system architectures in industrial automation be designed to be flexible and future-proof? We are answering this question in the BaSys4Transfer research…
EFPF

European connected factory platform for agile manufacturing

The EFPF project provides a federated smart factory platform that interconnects different stakeholders and their service platforms.

Insights

Success story

Connecting smart factories across Europe

Digital manufacturing platforms, smart tools, and Industry 4.0 concepts are converging. The EFPF project developed a connected, smart manufacturing ecosystem for the production of the future.
News

Digital twins as the key to the production of tomorrow

Industrial automation is becoming increasingly digital. Model-based development and digital twins enable flexible, connected, and efficient manufacturing structures in the BaSys4Transfer project.
Use Case

Resilient manufacturing with seamless data integration

Centralized data infrastructures connect production systems, boost efficiency and agility, and enable automated processes—from production orders to robot programming.

Competencies

Centralizing data across heterogeneous systems ensures cross-system interoperability and decision-making, eliminating process interruptions. Data integration frameworks support dynamic optimization, predictive analysis, and efficient resource allocation for timely, informed decisions.

Automated tools support agile development while ensuring compliance with security and regulatory standards, enabling secure, reliable software systems in fast-paced innovation cycles. This approach balances flexibility, speed, and robust security for dynamic manufacturing environments.

Providing production planners with the tools to monitor, analyze, and optimize workflows in real time. These insights enable rapid adjustments to changing conditions, support agile decision-making, and ensure sustained operational efficiency in dynamic manufacturing environments.

Autonomous manufacturing systems use real-time analytics and AI to monitor, adapt, and optimize production. They ensure seamless operations by responding to market demands, minimizing disruptions, and driving continuous improvement for future-ready environments.

Advanced data integration and real-time analytics unlock production data’s potential, enabling smarter decision-making, enhanced connectivity, and adaptable, resilient systems for efficient, future-ready manufacturing.

Modular, scalable systems integrate RAG for intuitive interaction with heterogeneous data sources on historical and real-time process data, allowing operators to query system states, identify and resolve errors, and aid innovation and decision-making processes.

Reference projects

ASCA4IE

Accountable Security Claims for Industrial Edge Applications

We analyze and develop models, tools, and methods for the definition of verifiable claims about application security in an open platform ecosystem for the…
Data Backbone

Data infrastructure for continuous production without system interruptions

Data Backbone is integrated digital engineering from the production order to the executable robot program based on an infrastructure that unites process data…
PRODISYS

Improved production planning and coordination through industrial platform ecosystems

The project PRODISYS pioneers the approach for the creation of prototypical industrial platform ecosystems with connected and combinable services for an…

Insights

Case study

Driving smart, real-time support in product development

As part of the DiProLeA project, fortiss developed an intelligent real-time assistance system that uses semantic modeling and process monitoring to improve efficiency and accuracy in digital product development.
Platform Engineering

Towards pervasive, robust and trustworthy platforms

Knowledge representation, traceability, and requirements mapping facilitate decision-making and prototyping.
Use Case

Flexible and adaptive manufacturing systems

Flexible, adaptive manufacturing systems integrate legacy and modern technologies, increase automation and autonomy, and enable efficient, scalable, and reliable production through real-time data.

Competencies

Integrating legacy systems with IoT, AI, and real-time monitoring enhances efficiency and decision-making. Using semantic interoperability, OPC UA, and Mendix, legacy infrastructures connect with modern systems, unlocking the potential of existing assets.

Development of standardized interfaces and flexible architectures for the dynamic integration of new sensors. Creating information models for seamless sensor data exchange ensures efficient, adaptable integration into existing systems, enhancing real-time monitoring and operational efficiency.

Leveraging AI for advanced object detection and pose estimation, recognition of human collaborators and their activities, and gesture recognition. These capabilities improve safety and interaction in manufacturing environments by enabling intelligent responses to dynamic conditions and human-machine cooperation.

Real-time monitoring enhances precision and operational insights. By focusing on semantic interoperability, these solutions ensure seamless data integration, automatic data segmentation and interpretation, and support cross-functional collaboration. As a result, data-driven decision-making is enabled, process accuracy is improved, and errors are minimized.

Utilizing formal knowledge models combined with data-driven anomaly detection and error classification models to enable production systems to respond flexibly to faults. This approach minimizes downtime and enhances production security by addressing external influences and compensating for unforeseen events.

Enabling autonomous production of multi-variant configurations, with the capability to automatically analyse and adjust production systems for customized single-unit orders. This approach enhances flexibility in production lines, allowing for efficient management of diverse product variants while ensuring high-quality, individualized production.

Reference projects

BIKINI

Lightning-Fast Event-Based Object Tracking for Automated Logistics

BIKINI explores how event-based cameras and spiking neural networks (SNNs) can enable real-time object tracking on moving conveyor belts. The project aims to…
ELEANOR

Industrial robots see with neuromorphic eyes

Following on from the INRC3 project, where a robotic arm is taught to insert an object using only force feedback, the ELEANOR project (Energy and Latency…

Insights

Robotics Lab

Flexible und intelligent production for small batches

The fortiss Robotics Lab simplifies complex production systems through semantic process modeling and uses real-world use cases to demonstrate how robot-assisted automation can be designed in innovative ways.
Interview

Sustainable production starts with intelligent solutions

The manufacturing industry is undergoing a profound transformation: AI, automation, and the IIoT are reshaping production systems. fortiss expert Alexander Perzylo offers insights into the smart, flexible, and efficient factories of the future.
Use Case

Integrated human-robot collaboration in manufacturing

Collaborative systems in manufacturing take a human-centered approach and bridge the gap between people and machines. They enhance productivity, safety, and flexibility through scalable, modular infrastructures.

Competencies

Research on industrial robot systems using semantic process descriptions enables financially viable automation of small-lot production. Advanced semantic technologies enhance usability, accuracy, and flexibility, enabling efficient, adaptable, and innovative human-robot collaboration for agile manufacturing.

This technology enables robots to learn from human actions through observing demonstrations of tasks, simplifying programming and enhancing worker involvement. It streamlines automation integration in flexible manufacturing, fostering collaboration and upskilling.

Research on collaborative robots (Cobots) enhances human-robot cooperation, improving quality and efficiency. By integrating Cobots into workflows, manufacturers foster flexibility in the design of production lines and innovation, driving advancements in smart, adaptive manufacturing.

Research explores models for integrating human and robotic capabilities in production, focusing on aligning skills, optimizing integration, and enhancing cooperative flexibility. The goal is to boost productivity, empower workers, and improve adaptability while maintaining control.

Reference projects

CORINNE

Collaborative welding robots with human interaction over gestures

The Cobots' Relational Interface with Neuromorphic Networks and Events (CORINNE) project aims to build robots that can recognize and respond to gestures (known…
DiProLeA

Digital product development process with learning assistance system

The DiProLeA research project is developing an in-house and user-specific assistance system for an end-to-end digital product development process. The…
News

Automated risk management as a key to competitiveness

In collaboration with Siemens, fortiss has developed new approaches for securing edge computing platforms as part of the ASCA4IE project. Automated tools and practical guidelines help identify risks early on and make industrial IoT solutions more secure and efficient.
News

Innovative impulses for automation and human-robot collaboration

After four years of intensive research, the EU project VOJEXT has been successfully completed. It paves the way for groundbreaking developments in human-robot interaction and cognitive automation.

Services for industry

Services

Your innovation starts with fortiss

We support companies and government agencies in developing innovative products, processes, and services in software and systems engineering, AI, and IoT – drawing on our experience from over 350 projects, from concept to implementation.

Please contact us!

fortiss – Your innovation partner for the manufacturing sector
  • Latest Scientific Insights
    Access to cutting-edge research and practical developments in production systems and automation.
  • Cross-Industry Solutions
    Expertise in integrating IoT, digitalization, and automation for efficient, flexible, and sustainable manufacturing processes.
  • Reliable Engineering Expertise
    Development of flexible and efficient production systems that seamlessly integrate into existing infrastructures and drive process optimization.
  • Future-Oriented Approach
    Focus on Industry 4.0, sustainability, resource efficiency, and cost reduction to enhance competitiveness in manufacturing.

Do you have any questions about our services, are you looking for innovative solutions in the field of energy management systems or would you like to discuss a specific idea? Perhaps you would also like to discuss your challenges with us? Please contact us!

*Mandatory fields
click to return to top of page