FESTO

THE GOAL

Festo is a worldwide leader in automation technology and a pioneer of Industry 4.0. The company is dedicated to innovation and constantly striving to optimise its products and services to meet changing customer needs.

For this reason, Festo has teamed up with the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) and CLEVR, a low-code technology solutions company, to develop an innovative new AI-based solution set to revolutionise the field of industrial automation. The new technology will enable machines to learn and adapt to their environment, increasing productivity, reducing downtime, and improving safety.

The goal of the joint partnership was to develop a prototype of an industrial assistance workplace that enables real interactive and situational learning by combining automated components, sensors, and AI-based evaluation of human motion data.

THE APPROACH

To achieve this goal, the joint partnership began developing CLEVRAssist. This powerful new software system uses AI and machine learning to give customers real-time insights into their manufacturing processes.

Festo Learning Center developed the prototype of an industrial assistance workplace that guides the user through the various steps of the partially automated process. The automation components capture the data generated in the work situations, and the system recognises, for example, whether a particular part has been installed at the correct length or whether a torque wrench has been used correctly.

DFKI identifies and analyses the motion patterns based on sensor-supported human movements captured at the assistance workplace. An AI component has been developed that collects position data from sensor points on wrists, elbows, and/or torso in a real-time activity tracking mode and performs process mining based on neural networks. The AI generates personalised recommendations tailored to the human user through context-sensitive and personalized recommendations for the next work step.

The CLEVRAssist app brings together all data streams and controls communication with the user. It operates at three primary levels: the cloud-based Mendix platform, the IoT interface for collecting all data from the peripheral devices of the workplace, and the digital representation of the data in their processes. The CLEVR application handles communication and interaction with the learning human at the assistance workplace using didactic success methods and dynamically adjusts assistance to the user's needs.

THE RESULTS

Since its introduction, CLEVRAssist has become an essential tool for the Festo Learning Center, helping them optimise its manufacturing processes and increase productivity. Thanks to the low-code technology, creating and adapting applications is faster and easier, enabling employees to respond to changes and solve problems more quickly.

CLEVRAssist's AI-based fault analysis helps reduce downtime by identifying and fixing potential problems before they lead to more significant issues.
Moreover, CLEVRAssist contributes to workplace safety by helping employees perform tasks safely and alerting them to potential hazards. Implementing CLEVRAssist has enabled the Festo Learning Center to operate more efficiently and safely.

This has helped the Festo Learning Center to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and improve the overall quality of its products, ultimately leading to higher profitability.
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