Outlook
Bavaria is racing for the lead
With its Hightech Agenda, Bavaria is jumping into the competition for the best minds by creating a significant counterweight to incentive measures in place in other countries such as China and the USA.
The future competitive potential of Bavaria is highly dependent on the digital transformation of companies. The faster this digital transformation proceeds, the better the chances for the Bavarian economy to successfully hold its own against competition from the Far East and the other side of the Atlantic.
On the road to Industry 5.0
Industry 5.0 is advancing. While Industry 4.0 was still concerned with optimizing performance through networking of production capacities (machines, processes and systems) as well as with the related exchange of data, Industry 5.0 is focused on collaboration between humans and intelligent machines or robots (AI). Robots are using technologies such as the Internet of things (IoT) and big data in order to gain insights from the available data and derive specific courses of action.
The better that humans can interact with machines or robots, the greater the gains in terms of efficiency and productivity.
The productivity increase that is entailed is nothing but revolutionary. This is why specialists are already referring to AI as the fifth industrial revolution, whence the term “Industry 5.0”.
Bavaria as the AI engine of Europe
The Center of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIRO) at THWS will seek to advance robotics and other uses of AI into previously unattainable application levels. As a center for applied sciences, CAIRO is focusing on technologies related to strong AI, which is primarily a young field of innovation. Corporations like Google, Apple and IBM as well as certain universities have already enjoyed initial successes in this domain and can be expected to produce further innovations. As a result, the quality of artificial intelligence will be significantly improved. CAIRO will provide the robotics user market as well as Bavarian SMEs with direct access to this technology while also introducing its own developments.
CAIRO will support Bavaria on the road to becoming an AI technology leader on the European stage. The existing Bavarian, German and European initiatives for the promotion of AI represent an opportunity for every company in Bavaria. For example, the German federal government is planning to make about €3 billion available for the implementation of its artificial intelligence strategy through 2025. Together with its partners in the Bavarian AI network, CAIRO will make a major contribution towards turning Bavaria into the AI engine of Europe while expanding its level of AI sovereignty vis-à-vis the Anglo-American and Chinese players.
Schweinfurt – a robomotive region and Silicon Valley of robotics
It is predicted that in the near future, robotic systems supported by (strong) AI will find their way into nearly every area of our private lives and work.
The huge demand for intelligent robots can only be met on the basis of industrial mass production. Analogous to the automotive sector, a “robomotive sector” is expected to emerge in future with its own ecosystems. As the car is transformed into a robot (“robot car”), the robomotive sector will even swallow up the automotive sector on the long term.
As an automotive center, this presents Schweinfurt with an opportunity to undertake an active structural transformation to secure the well-being as well as the competitiveness of the region. THWS is working to train the necessary engineers in robotics and AI in order to play a role in shaping this structural transformation. Under these circumstances, Schweinfurt is ideally positioned to go from the world capital for ball bearings to the Silicon Valley of robotics.
THWS as an enabler for Bavarian companies
As part of the Würzburg AI node for data science, THWS will do everything in its power to help the Hightech Agenda to succeed while turning Bavaria into a stronghold of AI technologies. FHWS is planning to follow a unique path: It is working to combine techniques from the fields of strong AI and applied AI. This will allow it to create added value while providing easier access to the relevant AI technologies for businesses, society and the scientific community throughout all regions of Bavaria.
The goal is to help Bavarian companies to build up AI expertise in their own application fields and implement their own solutions.
ERROR: Content Element type "dce_dceuid12" has no rendering definition!
Data science as an integral part of education
The ongoing transformation in the world of employment requires a certain rethinking of the content of many degree programmes and internships. AI technologies will play an important role in more and more fields of application, leading to new qualification profiles.
Domain-specific knowledge from areas such as manufacturing technology, medicine, pharmaceuticals, medical technology, financial services, insurance, logistics and aerospace engineering needs to be more tightly interconnected with AI knowledge. It is important to develop practical educational and training modules emphasizing the appropriate data science skills through cooperation between higher education institutions and industry.