More Efficient Manufacturing with Digital Engineering

Confidently into the Future with Reliable Technology

Turning Ideas into Products Faster

Virtual Technologies as Engines of Growth

IFFOCUSInteractive Human-Machine

2/2008

IFFOCUS 2/2008 3

Highlighting interactive humans andmachines, this issue, IFFocus 2/2008,will inform you about fascinating rese-arch services of today that willconquer corporate practice of tomor-row. As different as our clients andtheir challenges are, they have onecommonality: People's lives ought tobe made easier, better and safer withthe latest technological innova tions.This is what Fraunhofer research ersstand for.

I wish you interesting reading on yourvoyage of discovery through virtuallyunlimited virtual worlds. Perhaps it willinspire you in one way or another –we in Saxony-Anhalt would be glad tohelp you make your ideas reality.

Your

Prof. Michael Schenk

Prof. Michael Schenk, Director ofthe Fraunhofer IFF and Editor ofIFFocus. Photo: Dirk Mahler

Editor’s Page

Dear Readers,

“Magdeburg is an outstanding centerof virtual technology,” said Minister ofEducation and Research AnnetteSchavan about our center of researchhere in June 2008. During the 11thIFF Science Days, the Federal Ministryof Education and Research announcedthe start of the Virtual TechnologiesInnovation Alliance and funding ofaround 39 million euros for it. In addi-tion to this support, industry partnerswill be contributing 170 million eurosin investments over the next fiveyears. The Fraunhofer Institute forFactory Operation and Automation IFFin Magdeburg shall be the researchand technology hub. These areimpressive facts that conceal highlyinteresting research projects aboutwhich you will find out more in thismagazine.

Moreover, you will discover the excit-ing projects Magdeburg's Fraunhoferresearchers and their partners have onthe drawing board. The topics aremanifold and address different indus -tries: From robots for electron beamwelding to automated 3-D modelingof barley seeds. Things that appearunusual are the daily routine forFraunhofer researchers: They areactive in every sector as creativeproblem solvers.

News

6More Reliable Technology Thanks toVirtual Reality

7Fraunhofer IFF Opens Branch inBangkok

Asian Expertise Asia for Saxony-Anhalt's Businesses

8Nearly Two Millions Euros for theGalileo Test Field in Saxony-Anhalt

9Knowledge Management Expedition

Expert Forum on Energy Effiency inPlant Engineering

10First DHL Innovation Award WinnersChosen

11Sensor-guided Grinding andDeburring with Industrial Robots

State Government Supports theEstablishment of the "RenewableEnergies" Cluster’s Management

12Prototyping with Industrial Robots

A Robot Inspects Wind EnergyConverters

In a Flash

1411th IFF Science Days

Interview

16Surviving Times of CrisisManufacturing More Efficientlywith Virtual Engineering Dr. Stefan Robert Deibel

Research andDevelopment

18Virtual Technologies InnovationAlliance

20Virtual Technologies as Engines ofGrowthDr. Werner Schreiber

23 We're Developing the FutureMarco Schumann

26 Confidently into the Future withReliable TechnologyProf. Michael Schenk, Prof. GunterSaake and Marco Schumann

30 Turning Ideas into Products Faster:VIDET Innovation Cluster IsBoosting the Innovative Capabilityof Saxony-Anhalt's Small andMedium-sized Enterprises withVirtual TechnologiesDr. Reiner Haseloff and Prof. MichaelSchenk

In this issue ...

34No Ordinary Light Show: VirtualControllers for Electron BeamWelding RobotsProf. Ulrich Schmucker, and TorstenBöhme

38Trouble-proofed Plant Operation:The "Virtual Commissioning"Technology Platform ShortensStartup ProcessesTorsten Böhme

42Keeping a Sharp Eye on Nature:Automatic 3-D Modeling of BarleySeedsProf. Udo Seiffert

Sharp Minds

46Prof. Seiffert Heads BiosystemsEngineering

Patients of Steel

Of Doctorates and Perfection

47International Honors for DirectorSchenk

48VDI Welcomes Schenk as NewExecutive Board Member

2008 Science Award for LogisticsGoes to Moritz Gomm

The Networker Coordinating theVIDET Innovation Cluster

The First Professor of Wind PowerNationwide

Gallery

50Impressions of Business, Research andTechnology

58Editorial Notes

Outlook

59Meet Up with Us at Events in 2009

6 IFFOCUS 2/2008

The research project Virtualand Augmented Reality forMaximum Safety, Securityand Reliability of EmbeddedSystems VIERforES was offi-cially started in Magdeburgin September. Otto vonGuericke University Presi -dent Klaus-Erich Pollmann;Fraunhofer IFF DirectorMichael Schenk, TechnicalUniversity KaiserslauternPresident Helmut Schmidtand Fraunhofer IESEDirector Peter Liggesmeyersigned the cooperation

agreement. The FederalMinistry of Education andResearch is supporting theproject with 7.5 millioneuros as part of its initiativeAdvanced Research andInnovation in the NewStates.The researchers intend totake advantage of thebenefits of virtual reality todevelop safe, secure andreliable technology. Thingsthat are normally invisibleshall take on form in cyber-space, precisely demon -

strating how software inte-grated in machinery anddevices performs. "Researchfindings shall enter directlyinto the developmentprocess and make DVDplayers, cars or entirepower plants safer, moresecure and more reliable.Automotive, medical,power and material hand-ling engineering all particu-larly exhibit tremendousneed for research, "saysProf. Michael Schenk,"After all, the industry isendeavoring to digitallymap manufacturing proces-ses from end to end."Calculating the perfomanceof technical systems re -quires expert knowledgefrom specialists in thewidest variety of fields ofresearch according to Ottovon Guericke UniversityPresident Klaus ErichPollmann. "It's not enoughto have clever mechanicalengineers or computerscientists. Launching realinnovations requires inter -disciplinary collaborationamong top researchers.That is VIERforES strength."

Automotive engineeringwithout embedded systemsis inconceivable today.Every car has fifty to onehundred microcontrollerswith well over one millionlines of code performing a

More Reliable Technology Thanks to Virtual RealityThe Cutting Edge Interdisciplinary Research Project VIERforES Starts in Magdeburg

variety of control and moni-toring functions. Many ofthese such as ABS are rele-vant to safety. The trend isongoing. Conventionalmethods are basicallyunable to test whether thecomplex interaction ofhardware and software inconjunction with a car'smechanics and electricalsystems is free of faults.While not every fault maycause an accident, manu-facturers can suffer fromexpensive recalls and imageloss. Methods of virtualdevelopment and testingprovide one option tobetter control complexity:Digital models enabletesting vehicle and softwareperformance faster andmore thoroughly and theresults can be presentedclearly in virtual environ-ments. Magdeburg's Ottovon Guericke University andFraunhofer IFF are contribu-ting their expertise in themodeling and representa-tion of complex mecha -tronic systems in virtualenvironments. Kaisers -lautern's Technical Univer -sity and the Fraunhofer IESEhave years of experiencedeveloping and testingembedded softwaresystems. They intend tojointly develop strategiesand tools to perform themost extensive virtual testspossible, in particular forsafety-critical componentsin state-of-the-art vehicles.

News

Looking forward to collaborating: (in front, l. to r.) Prof. Klaus ErichPollmann, President of Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg,

and Prof. Hans Hagen from the Technical University Kaiserslautern and(in back, l. to r.) Prof. Michael Schenk, Director of the Fraunhofer IFF in

Magdeburg and Prof. Peter Liggesmeyer, Director of the Fraunhofer IESEin Kaiserslautern. Photo: Berndt Liebl

Computer technology runs everyday life. Increasingly, embedded systems controland monitor equipment that are used every day without a second thought. Resear-chers from Magdeburg and Kaiserslautern are jointly working on concepts intendedto help enterprises optimize their products so that the integrated software functionsproperly. The researchers aim to make technical devices safer, more secure and morereliable.

IFFOCUS 2/2008 7

To this end, the researchorganizations and theirpartners kicked-off a jointproject on December 1,2008. Small and medium-sized enterprises intendingto establish business rela -tions in Asia or needingsupport in business transac-tions with Asian partnerswill be able to rely on helpfrom these experts.

Some small and medium-sized enterprises havealready been drawn to Asia.The Middle Kingdom, Chinaholds remarkable potentialfor sales, procurement andcapital markets. The Asiantigers Thailand and Vietnamare experiencing annualeconomic growth of 4-6%."As far as export trade isconcerned, Saxony-Anhalt

Asian Expertise Asia for Saxony-Anhalt’s BusinessesMartin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, its Institutefor Innovation and Entrepreneurship IIE and the Fraun-hofer Institute for Factory Operation and AutomationIFF in Magdeburg intend to make it easier for compa-nies in Saxony-Anhalt to enter the Asian market.The Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and UrbanAffairs is supporting the project with around 400 000euros.

Shanghai, China. Enterprises from Saxony-Anhalt will also be ableto profit from the country's enormous sales markets and above

average economic growth. Photo: Anna-Kristina Wassilew

An impressive view of the vibrantmetropolis opens from the

Fraunhofer IFF office on the 29thfloor of RCK Tower on Silom

Road. Photo: Ralf Opierzynski

Early next year; Magde -burg's Fraunhofer Institutewill open a branch in theThai metropolis of Bangkokwhere Ralf Opierzynski will

be coordinating indus tryand transfer projects andestablishing new contacts.The cooperation partnersinclude the Feder ation ofThai Industries (FTI), theAsian Society forEnvironmental Protection(ASEP), the National Scienceand Technology Develop -ment Agency (NSTDA) andthe Ministry of Science andTechnology. Bangkok willbe the hub to stepping upcollaboration not only inThailand but also withenterprises throughout theASEAN region, particularlyMalaysia, Vietnam, Indone -sia and the Philippines.

The Fraunhofer IFF has been maintaining closerelationships with small andmedium-sized enterprises

and technology transferorganizations in SoutheastAsia since 1999.Opierzynski has establisheda well functioning networkof partners and interestedenterprises over nine years.Demand has grown greaterover the course of time andexisting partners have indi-cated express interest infollow-up projects. Whilethe Fraunhofer IFF's Asiaexpert spent a great deal oftime in the air, Opierzynskiis now organizing a perma-nent representation in themetropolis. "The move toBangkok has already paidfor itself," reports RalfOpierzynski, full of expec -tations for the future:"Thiswill enable us to expandour business relationshipssustainably."

Fraunhofer IFF Opens Branch in Bangkok

In Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt's Minister ofTransportation Karl-HeinzDaehre, Minister ofEducation and Culture Jan-Hendrik Olbertz, Ministerof Economics and LaborDr. Reiner Haselhoff andUniversity President KlausErich Pollmann signed acooperation agreement forthis project in which nearlytwo million euros are beinginvested. "The Galileo TestField will establish the basicconditions to concentratetransportation research inSachsen-Anhalt on oneapplied project for the

future," said Daehre afterthe signing.According to the Minister ofTransportation, who is incharge of coordinating thisstate initiative, this estab -lishes the basis for researchorganizations and enter -prises in Saxony-Anhalt toplay a role in the develop-ment of this technology inEurope. "This is a milestonefor Otto von GuerickeUniversity in the capital aswell as for Saxony-Anhalt asa center of research andtechnology as a whole,"Daehre pointed out.

8 IFFOCUS 2/2008

needs to catch up consider-ably. The regional economypresents unique opportuni-ties small and medium-sizedenterprises ought to takebetter advantage of,"Fraunhofer IFF DirectorMichael Schenk urges.

This is also the view of theOrganisation for economicCo-operation and Develop -ment OECD. One outcomeof its conference on "Per -spectives on StrengtheningEntrepreneurship in EastGermany" in November oflast year was the OECD'sendorsement of regionaland national organizationsefforts to provide small andmedium-sized enterprisessupport developing inter -national markets.

A number of risks offset thegreat potential for businessin foreign markets though."Along with a lack of relia-ble market information anda selection of reliable part-ners, forty percent of theenterprises surveyed indi -cated that cultural disso-nances adversely affectforeign activities. This is ourpoint of departure,"explains project managerProf. Joachim Ulrich, VicePresident of Research andFuture Researchers atMartin Luther UniversityHalle-Wittenberg. In thefuture, enterprises willprofit from the expertise ofresearchers in the field ofAsian studies for theirforeign business and beprepared for the distinctivefeatures of the Asianmarket. The researchersintend to transfer their

knowledge and experiencein intensive workshops,interdisciplinary field semi-nars, foreign study trips andpersonnel and contactbrokering. On the onehand, seminars will treatconcepts for the develop-ment of foreign markets,e.g. market studies, toreduce the risks whenentering a new market.On the other hand, theadaptation of enterprises'Internet presentation toAsia will be analyzed bydrawing on creative skillsand experience with Asiancooperation from BurgGiebichenstein University ofArt and Design Halle.Businesspeople will alsolearn entirely practical infor-mation for everyday inter-national business transac-tions such as correct formsaddress for foreign businesspartners in correspondenceand email or on the phoneas well as basic facts aboutpolitics, business and reli-gion. A trip of a delegationto the Asian target regionsof China, Thailand andVietnam will be organizedto enable businesses toestablish concrete businessand collaborative relations.

News

Logistics connects: Minister of Economics and Labor Dr. Haselhoff,Minister of Transportation Dr. Daehre, Director of ifak Prof. Jumar,

Deputy Director of the Fraunhofer IFF Dr. Müller, Otto von GuerickeUniversity President Prof. Pollmann and State Secretary Gramlich.

Photo: Anna-Kristina Wassilew

Nearly Two Millions Euros for theGalileo Test Field in Saxony-Anhalt

After months of preparing the state initiative forapplied transportation research, a development laband a test field for navigation, localization andcommunication in traffic and logistics (the Saxony-Anhalt Galileo Test Field) is being set up at Otto vonGuericke University Magdeburg.

IFFOCUS 2/2008 9

The three ministries in -volved are financing theconstruction and opera-tion of the Galileo TestField. This year and nextyear,1.8 million euros willbe invested in measuringequipment, sensorsystems, software and labequipment at Otto vonGuericke Uni versity and180,000 euros will befurnished for researchstaff. Thus, it will alreadybe possible to carry outthe first re search anddevelopment projects in2009. Stress is placed oninvolving con sortiumsfrom Saxony-Anhalt,specifically the university,non-academic researchorganizations and indu-stry partners, in nationaland European researchprograms. "An importantprerequisite to sustainedeconomic growth is thequality of the transporta-tion infrastructure. Tokeep it up-to-date, weare investing in transpor-tation re search," saysMinister of Transporta -tion Reiner Haseloff

"We expect a sustainableimpact from our inter -minis terial support stra-tegy that secures andcreates jobs in the keyindustries of transporta-tion and logistics," theminister explains. That iswhy the involvement ofand support for smalland medium-sized enter-prises is especially impor-tant to the state.

Anyone who effectivelyexploits the knowledge inher enterprise can save a lotof money - that is certain.Yet, how should knowledgebe organized? Finding one'sbearings in the jungle ofknowledge managementmethods and instrumentsand identifying the rightsolution for one's own

June 2008. The goal was toprovide small and medium-sized enterprises concreteassistance to organizeknowledge. Many interest -ed businesspeople attendedsince this issue is growingincreasingly important inour market economy.Individual cases werediscussed together withFraunhofer experts andsolutions were soughtcollectively.

The next opportunity will beat the knowledge manage-ment conference WM2009to be held in Solothurn,Switzerland on March 25 to27, 2009. Among otherthings, successfully imple-mented methods and exam-ples from the field will bepresented, which demon-strate how management canbe profitably implemented insmall and medium-sizedenterprises.

needs is virtually impossiblewithout outside assistance,particularly for small andmedium-sized enterprises.

The Fraunhofer IFF andFraunhofer IPK jointlyhosted the professionalconference "ProWis:Knowledge ManagementExpedition" in Berlin in

Knowledge Management Expedition

Expert Forum on Energy Effiency in Plant Engineering

Scarce resources, steadily rising energy costs, environmental pollution – Germany’splant manufacturers are facing tremendous challenges. Experts discussed the latesttrends and practicable solutions at the 10th Industry Working Group on Cooperationin Plant Engineering in Arnstdorf in Bavaria.

The industry is banking onrenewable energy sourcesand boosting plant effi-ciency. This necessitatesnew concepts and practi -cable solutions though.Ludwig Heck from BASF SEpresented interestingapproaches to energy effi-ciency and highlightedthree mainstays: planningstruc tures and organization,

Attendees of the ProWis Knowledge Management Expe di tion taking advantage of the conference to network. Photo: Dirk Mahler

The Industry Working Group assembled in Arnstdorf. Photo: Melanie Thurow

10 IFFOCUS 2/2008

News

The winners were selectedby a jury of distinguishedexperts: Prof. MichaelSchenk (Fraunhofer IFF),Chris Caplice (Massachu -setts Institute of Technolo -gy), Prof. Eckard Minx(Daimler AG), Ulrich

Kasparick (Federal Ministryof Transport, Building andUrban Affairs) and Dr. KeithUlrich (DHL-InnovationCenter).Experts from all over theworld work together at theDHL Innovation Center in

people and creativity andmetho ds an tools. Analysesmake plant-wide opti -mization of products flowsfeasible.

The share of such renew -able energies as wind,water or solar in Germany'senergy supply has risensteadily in recent years. Itsshare in the total energydemand for power, heatand fuel grew to 7.7% lastyear, making it possible tocover an energy demand of202.5 billion KWh in 2006.The major challenge is todevelop solutions that har -monize cost effective nessand ecology in inter national

regional competition.The organizers are pleasedat the great response. HostVeronika Lindner, Memberof the Board of Lindner AGis impressed: "Manyrespect ed experts from allover Germany came to ourIndustry Working Group.Whether they are big likeBASF, TÜV Rheinland orJenoptik or small like PARPlanung für Anlagen- undRohrleitungsbau GmbH orGebrüder Häschel GbR, thecompanies all have thesame problems. There isgreat need for discussion."According to the initiator ofthe Industry WorkingGroup, Andrea Urbansky

The world's leading expressand logistics provider,DHL awarded its first DHLInno vation Awards onNovember 19, 2008. In thepresence of around 200guests, clients, employeesand re searchers wererecog nized for innovativelogistics solutions that arein development or beingimplemented. "The logisticsindustry needs ranges ofefficient and intelligentproducts and services tomaster the challenges ofthe future," explained hostJohn Allan who, as Presi -dent of Deutsche PostWorld Net Finances andGlobal Business Services, isalso in charge of technol -ogy and innovation man -agement. "Whether climateneutral shipping or contin -

uous monitoring of tem -perature-sensitive high-techmedicine, DHL InnovationCenter is already providingits customers future proofsolutions. The DHL Innova -tion Award recognizes creativity and business ideasthat have advanced ourindustry."

Among others, Metro AGwas recognized for succes-sfully implementing RFIDchips in its supply chain andthe insurer Allianz for send -ing all its correspondenceand mailings climate neu -trally since July of 2008.

from the Fraunhofer IFFin Magdeburg, "Weconsider ourselves aforum that bringsGermany's plantengineers together. Theresponse confirms ourapproach and the expertsprofit from the mutualexchange."

The Fraunhofer IFF hasbeen organizing theIndustry Working Grouptogether with theAssociation for thePromotion of Mechanicaland Plant Engineering inSaxony and Saxony-Anhalt for five years. Itprovides plant manufac-

turers, supplier companiesand plant operators acommon discussion forumthat presents trends andprospects and thus enablesthem to access innovativedevelopment.

The next Cooperation inPlant Engineering IndustryWorking Group will meet inMagdeburg on June 17,2009 during the 12th IFFScience Days. More infor-mation and the registrationform are available online atwww.wissenschaftstage.iff.fraunhofer.de

The first DHL-Innovation Awardwinners (l. to r.): Dr. Plenge

(Metro), Dr. Willems (BostonUniversity School of

Management), Ms. Patwardhan(DHL Express Singapore),

Dr. Elspermann (Allianz), Ms.Schreiner (SkySails), Mr. Franck

(DHL Express Germany), Mr.Hennessy (DHL US), Mr. Saxena

(DHL Express Singapore),Dr. Peter Klaus.

Photo: Deutsche Post AG

First DHL Innovation Award Winners Chosen

IFFOCUS 2/2008 11

One of the Fraunhofer IFF'sfirst industry projects wascompleted in collaborationwith a company in Werni -gerode in 1993. The auto-mation specialists devel -oped a process and specialsen sor for a robot. Com -bined force and positioncontrol make it possible toeffectively debur castingseven in small productionruns.

Fast control of robotmovements is especiallyimportant for stable proc -ess control. The research -ers managed to do thiswith a six componentforce/torque sensor withfully integrated signalprocessing distinguishedby its extremely high scan-ning rate.

In the presence of Minister ofEconomics and Labor ReinerHaseloff, Vattenfall EuropeTransmission GmbH commencedoperation of the first segment ofthe approximately 210 km longHalle-Schweinfurt (Bavaria) extrahigh voltage transmission line inDecember. At the commissioningceremony, Haseloff presented theSaxony-Anhalt Center for Renew -able Energies (ZERE) and theAgentur für Technologietransferund Innovationsförderung (ATI)an official letter of notification of500 000 euros in funding. Thefunding will support the esta-blishment of the "RenewableEnergies" cluster's management.

It will also concentrate onthe recovery of energy frombiomass and biowaste,energy storage and supply,cogeneration plants, windenergy converters, photo-voltaic, solar and geother-mal energy and energyefficiency. In his welcomingremarks, Haseloff said,"Saxony-Anhalt and theother new states are assum -ing a leading position inGermany in renewableenergies, especially windpower. This ought toremain so in the futuretoo."

Photo: Vattenfall

Troisdorf near Bonn todevelop innovations fromprototypes to implementa-tion in the concern and atcustomer's facilities. Fieldsof work include monitoringof intelligent goods, opti -mized routing and environ-mentally compatible logis -tics. High-tech develop-ments from the FraunhoferIFF in Magdeburg are alsoon board. One is the IFFSmart Box that securelytransports valuable goods ininternational supply chains.Various radio technologiesenable locating the IFFSmart Box all over theworld. The intelligentcontainer allows a runninginventory of its contents.The Smart Box registers anddocuments every loadedand unloaded item andcommunicates with thecontrol center.

Sensor-guided Grinding and Deburring with Indus trial Robots

Reflections: Fifteen Years Ago

The Fraunhofer IFF has specialized in automation since 1993.Photo: Industriefoto Dieck

State Government Supports the Establishment of the “Renewable Energies”Cluster's Management

sheets, bonds them atopone another and thenmachines the shape with amilling machine. Industrialrobots will be able to takethis over in the future,"says Felsch. How exactlydoes that function though?First, the KUKA robot mixesa liquid two-componentfoam and applies one foamlayer after another to themachined surface. Since anaverage layer is two centi-meters thick, a relativelyrough model of a casting isproduced. Just as in directmilling, the software thensupplies the milling parame-ters to the robot: Wheremust how much material beremoved? What tool is bestto use? The robot machi-ning processes are currentlystill in development. Theycould be supporting foun-dries in their work in one totwo years.

12 IFFOCUS 2/2008

In the future, industrialrobots will support skilledworkers when they fabri-cate molds: Together withtheir partner firm Modell-und Formenbau GmbHSachsen-Anhalt MFSA, rese-archers at the FraunhoferInstitute for FactoryOperation and AutomationIFF in Magdeburg havedeveloped a procedure forthis. "The robots producelarge-volume models andmolds faster and lessexpensively. Depending onthe process, this can cutcosts by up to a third.Various tools can be combi-ned flexibly with oneanother," explains TorstenFelsch, Research Managerat the Fraunhofer IFF. Themolds are milled directlyout of a block - withoutlosing time on a productmodel. KUKA RoboterGmbH in Augsburg is

supporting this project:Thus, among other things,a standard KUKA robot isbeing utilized. TheFraunhofer researchers arescrutinizing the basics ofrobot use: Which millingpath is optimal? How canalgorithms be used tocalculate it? What tools arebest for robot use? Theircolleagues at MFSA areimplementing the findingsdirectly in production.

Another method is oftenmore cost effective for largequantities than directmilling: Since a mold isdestroyed when a finishedcasting is extracted,workers first fashion amodel of the casting to beproduced, which serves as apattern for molds. "Themodels are built up inlayers. Usually, a workersaws out the individual

News

Prototyping with Industrial Robots

Ship's propellers, parts for wind energy converters, turbine housings – such largevolume castings can only be produced with special molds. The procedure is elaborateand cost-intensive because foundry workers must still perform most of the worksteps manually.

An industrial robot mills a mold for a large part. Photo: Torsten Felsch

It appears reliably andappears alone. Nimblyand quickly, it pulls itselfup a rope meter formeter until it reaches awind energy converter'sgiant rotor blades. Thenit goes to work. Itthoroughly inspects everycentimeter of the rotorblades' surface. Nothingescapes it. It registers anycrack and any delamina-tion in the material andrelays their exact positi-ons. In this job, a robot issuperior to humans.

The researchers at theFraunhofer Institute forFactory Operation andAutomation IFF areexperts in robotics –regardless of whether toclean facades, inspectsewer lines or assisthumans. Their latesthelper is RIWEA, a robotthat inspects the rotorblades of wind energyconverters. Primarilymade of glass fiber rein-forced plastics, rotorblades have to withstanda great deal: wind, iner-tial forces, erosion, etc.Until now, humans haveinspected wind energyconverters at regularintervals – not an easyjob. After all, the techni-cians must closelyexamine large surfaces -a rotor blade can be upto 60 meters long - inairy heights. "Our robotis not just a good clim-ber," says Dr. NorbertElkmann, Project

A Robot Inspects Wind Energy Converters

Manager am Fraunhofer IFFand coordinator of the jointproject. "It is equipped witha number of advancedsensor systems. This enablesit to inspect rotor bladesclosely." Are there cracks inthe surface? Are thebonded joints and lamina -tions in order? Is the bondwith the central strut dama-ged?

The inspection systemconsists of three elements:An infrared radiator con -ducts heat to the surface ofthe rotor blades. A high-resolution thermal camerarecords the temperaturepattern and thus registersflaws in the material. Inaddition, an ultrasonicsystem and a high resolu-tion camera are also onboard, thus enabling therobot to also detect damagethat would remain hidden

to the human eye. Aspecially developed carriersystem ensures that theinspection robot is guidedsecurely and preciselyalong the surface of arotor blade. "it is a highlycomplex platform withsixteen degrees of free-dom, which can autono-mously pull itself upropes," explains Elkmann.The advantage of thissystem: It can perform itsjob on any wind energyconverter - regardless ofwhether it is large orsmall, on land or offs-hore. The robot alwaysdelivers an exact log ofthe rotor blades' condi-tion, keeping humanssafe and not missing anydamage.

A robot ascends a wind energy converter to inspect its rotor bladesfor possible damage.

April 7 - June 9, 2009, Magdeburg

2009 Logistics Guest Lecture Series

Logistics as a Field ofWork of the Future:Potentials, Implemen -tation Strategies andVisions

www.gvr-log.de

IFF

FraunhoferInstitut Fabrikbetriebund -automatisierung

In a Flash

16-18, June 2009. Theprogram will includepresentations on logistics,robotics, digital engineeringand biotechnology. Manytop speakers have alreadyaccepted our invitation toprovide insight into theirsuccess strategies.Conference attendees aresure to profit from theirunique experiences and thelatest findings. The profes-sional atmosphere is perfectfor discussions. The eveningevent where all attendeesgather together is especiallyan opportunity for personalnetworking.

Information and registration at:www.wissenschaftstage.iff.fraunhofer.de

Phot

os:

Vik

toria

Küh

ne u

nd D

irk M

ahle

r

These impressions from thesummer of 2008 provide aglimpse of the IFF ScienceDays, a recognized forumfor experts from research,academia, business andgovernment. Its recipe forsuccess is the successful mixof speakers on the onehand and the fascinatinginsights into current re -search work undertaken byour researchers togetherwith their industry partnerson the other hand.

The Fraunhofer Institute forFactory Operation andAutomation IFF will behosting its 12th IFF ScienceDays in Magdeburg on June

Impulses and Inspiration

16 IFFOCUS 2/2008

From now on, it will be even more amatter of cost than before. We willexperience competition like neverbefore. We will only achieve ambitiousgoals when we dare something new.Hence, it is also important to keeplooking ahead and be open for inno-vations. We will survive when we areinnovative.

Can virtual engineering help?

Virtual engineering is the cornerstone! Plant manufacturers and operatorswill no longer be able to manage inthe future without this advanced tech-nology. Virtual engi neering is a funda-mental tool – for us, particularly in theconstruction phase . Bear in mind,plants, especially plants for the chemi-cal industry, are always unique items.Thus, for example, we must complywith different standards and factor inunique geographic features in everycountry. For instance, we need diffe-rent cooling water concepts on theequator than in the Siberian tundra.Such plants must be planned in great

Machinery and plant manufactur -ing is one of Germany's leadingbranches of industry. So far, busi -nesspeople could be content: Orderbooks were filled for the comingyears. Now, everyone is talkingabout a global financial crisis andworried about its impact on theeconomy. Is the euphoric moodamong plant manufacturers chang -ing? What awaits the industry?

The crisis will alter existing points ofview – companies will have to with-stand considerable cost pressure.Much like the crisis of 1983-84 – butfar more serious. I think a definiterecession awaits us. Many projectswill disappear and many investmentprojects will be put on hold. After -ward, a concentration process willbegin. Only the companies that manu-facture fastest and cheapest will ableto survive the market.

Only those who manufacture costeffectively and rapidly will survive.Is that really the whole secret?

Surviving Times of Crisis

Manufacturing MoreEfficiently with Virtual

Engineering Dr. Stefan Robert Deibel, BASF SE

In terms of sales and market capi -talization, BASF SE is the world'slargest chemical concern. The com-pany has more than 95 000 employ-ees at some 400 production facili-ties throughout the world. Its head -quarters in Ludwigshafen am Rheinis its largest production facility.

BASF SE and the Fraunhofer IFFhave united in an interesting col -labora tive project: The research in-stitute in Magdeburg is support ingthe concern's implementation ofvirtual technologies in its planningand engineering of process plantsfor the chemical industry.

IFFocus editor Anna-Kristina Wassi-lew spoke with BASF engineeringexpert Dr. Stefan Robert Deibelabout the new developments theindustry has to adjust to and BASF'simplementation of virtual technol -ogies.

Phot

o: V

ikto

ria K

ühne

IFFOCUS 2/2008 17

detail and this requires great exper-tise. Virtual models enable ourengineers to perfect plants with theirfuture operators before they are built.That means finalizing customizeddesigns before they really cost money.

For what work does BASF usevirtual technologies ?

We recently instituted new standardsaccording to which every BASF plantwill now be virtually engineered.We implemented this together withthe virtual reality experts from theFraun hofer IFF. We now have twovirtual reality workstations where wecom plete our "virtual pipe design",meaning our engineers use it to planpiping.

What is more, engineers at BASFalso use virtual technologies forother work. In what other domainshave they additionally paid off?

To plan and upgrade existing plants. Ifyou intend to implement an elaboratelabyrinth of winding pipes, you haveto be certain what the consequencesare. Many questions have to be clari-fied in advance: Are collisions athreat? Are shut-off devices withinarm's reach for employees? Issues ofindustrial safety crop up as well. Allthis can be resolved better and withmore certainty when one works withvirtual engineering in such planningprocesses. Comparable to a player inthe computer game SimCity, the plan-ning team downright immerses itselfin a plant and inspects and tests itsvarious functions.

Do you also use the virtual modelsfor training purposes?

Our commissioning is also a kind oftraining. Future operators have toknow how to commission their plants.We use virtual models for this as wellas for quality control.The question of a material's hydrody-namic characteristics, namely howhigh the loads in tanks are, is especi-ally interesting to us. In the future, we

intend to spend more time on how tosimulate this with virtual reality.

How much do you estimate virtualengineering methods save you?

We are still in the implementationphase – when all goes right, we willcertainly be able to cut two to threemonths from the planning process.We normally need around twelvemonths. If we manage to shorten thisprocess step to ten months, we willbe able to save around fifteen percentin time alone.

When one imagines the sheerunlimited opportunities virtualtechnologies open, one has towonder how we used to get bywithout them. How did BASFformerly engineer plants?

When I started at BASF in 1989,plants were still being planned two-dimensionally: The engineers were stilldrawing linear pipe plans with pencilson big tables. These served as thebasis for constructing wooden stickmodels. Later, the wood models werereplaced by plastic models. Afterward,the piping engineers laid the linesdirectly in the plastic models and thenmade new drawings. This method wasunable to allow for small partsthough. This meant, for example, thatevery pipe with a diameter of lessthan 25 millimeters could only beplanned and inserted at the construc-tion site. You can imagine that suchmodels could not be very accurate.Many difficulties didn't appear until aplant had already been built. Later, we exclusively used 3-D CADmodels and were thus able to gener -ate isometries. Today, virtual engi -neering can represent so many things.Back then, when CAD data modelswere being introduced, we werealready happy for the tremendousincreases in profits and productivity.Today, we expect even fewer turnaro-und times from virtual engineering.

Interview

Brief CV

Dr. Stefan Robert Deibel

1959Born in Hamburg

1979 - 1982Degree in chemistry from RWTHAachen University

1983 - 1988Manager of detergent Production atProcter & Gamble GmbH, Germany

1988Doctorate from RWTH AachenUniversity

1989BASF AG in Ludwigshafen, First position in the CorporateEngineering Division

1996Technical Engineering ServicesDirector

1998Manager of projects “ImplementingMajor Investments at the GeismarSite” in the Technical EngineeringServices Divisiion

2003 President, Corporate EngineeringDivision

2008Senior Vice President, Engineering

September 2008 presentGroup Vice President Technology andProduction Coordination PU BasicProducts at BASF in Brussels

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Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are playing an ever greater role when surgeons test operations on arealistic patient model des on a computer. These technologies can be employed wherever complex or even dangerousoperations are simulated to already eliminate problems before the start of production. To advance this technology andpracticable applications the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is supporting three new joint projects aspart of its Virtual Technologies Innovation Alliance with around 39 million euros through 2011.

Virtual Technologies Innovation Alliance

IFFOCUS 2/2008 19

On the occasion of the announce-ment of the Innovation Alliance atthe 11th IFF Science Days, Ministerof Education and ResearchAnnette Schavan emphasizedthat "With these virtual realitytechnologies we are establishingan important basis to strengthenthe competitiveness of our busin-ess. Without efficient production,Germany would be unable to bethe world's leading exporter."Along with the support from theBMBF, the industry partners willinvest 170 million euros in thesetechnologies over the next fiveyears.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Fac -tory Operation and Automation IFFin Magdeburg will be the researchand technological hub for thethree projects AVILUS (AppliedVirtual Technologies in the Productand Production Equipment LifeCycle), AVILUSplus (Applied VirtualTechnologies Focused Long-rangeon the Product and ProductionEquipment Life Cycle) andVIERforES (Virtual and AugmentedReality for Maximum EmbeddedSystem Safety, Security andReliability). The institute is a part-ner to clients from medium-sizedenterprises, industry, research andgovernment. Together with itsclients, it develops and optimizessolutions in the fields of logistics,virtual engineering, automationand plant engineering.

"Magdeburg is an outstandingcenter of virtual technology rese-arch and development and there-fore also suited for us to supportthe pilot project VIERforES as partof our program AdvancedResearch and Innovation in theNew States," according toSchavan. The VIERforES project isone of six pilot projects in theBMBF's program AdvancedResearch and Innovation in the

New States, which builds upon regio-nal strengths. Support is intended toboost the capacity for innovation andthus the economic power in theeastern states.

In the AVILUS project, a consortium oftwenty-eight leading German indus -trial companies, small and medium-sized enterprises and research orga-nizations is developing and testingefficient technologies, e.g. from thefield of information management.The objective of the project is userfriendly technology, which can beused to create VR systems withoutgreat effort. Volkswagen AG hasassumed the coordination of AVILUS.

In the research project AVILUSplus,nine research organizations areworking on fundamental aspects oftechnology research, emphasizingvisualization and interaction as well asdata management and methods ofmeasurement.

Contact: Dr. Werner SchreiberVolkswagen KonzernForschung “Virtuelle Techniken”Brieffach 011/1511038436 WolfsburgTel. 05361 9-785 97Telefax 05361 9-782 14werner.schreiber@volkswagen.de

1989 - 1991 Robert Krups GmbH & Co KG,Solingen, Research engineer collabora-tively researching at the Institut fürMesstechnik und Austauschbau,Technische Universität Braunschweig

Dezember 1990 Doctorate in Engineering

Seit 1991 Volkswagen AG, Wolfsburg, ConcernProduction Strategy,

Head of Division of Concern QualityPromotion,

Head of Mechanical Manufacturing 2Cost Center including overall mainte -nance

Head of Divsiion of Vehicle ProductionTechnology

Head of Concern Production andProcess Research

2008Virtual Tech nologies InnovationAlliance Spokesman

Dr. Werner Schreiber, Virtual Technologies Innovation Alliance Spokesman

October 21, 1957 Born in Solingen

1977 - 1984 Technical University Braunschweig,major in Mechanical Engineering,specialization in ProductionEngineering and Interchangeability

1984 - 1988 Diehl GmbH & Co, Nürnberg,International Project Management

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Virtual Technologies asEngines of Growth

AVILUS Applied Virtual Technologies in the Product and ProductionEquipment Life Cycle

Dr. Werner Schreiber, Volkswagen Konzernforschung and Virtual Technologies Innovation Alliance Spokesman

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Virtual Technologies Focused onSpecific UsersThe project is squarely focused onpeople. It intends to integrate them inall of product development with theaid of virtual technologies and enablethem to make decisions in differentstages of development considerablyfaster and more reliably. Developerswill already be able to step into therole of later users or consumers at anearly stage to evaluate the function ofa virtual product and optimize itwhere necessary. The completion ofmore complex tasks requires beingable to experience and operate avirtual product and its environment asrealistically as possible. Users will beable to intuitively act in a scene, e.g. acar interior or an aircraft cabin, andoperate the relevant equipment

More effective utilization of digitalinformation supporting products andmanufacturing holds another econo-mic potential. To this end, an informa-tion management system shall bedeveloped, which maps the entire lifecycle of a product or productionequipment and combines and proces-ses all data from developmentthrough disposal and provides it toother users and applications.

Technology Development The AVILUS project will refine andholistically linked technologies forinformation management, digitalinformation-supported manufacturing,virtual information presentation,tracking-systems, visualization systems(renderers), mobile informationrecord ing and display equipment andinformation generation and proces-sing (engineering and authoringsystems) so that they are also suitablefor implementation in small andmedium-sized enterprise.

To enable users to optimally accessdigital information and to providenetworked information, the units ofinformation must be weighted. Onlyan integrated, semantically describedinformation space (ontology) that

incorporates the entire product lifecycle and every manufacturingprocess allows a vision of a digitalfactory or a digital product tobecome reality.

Ever more complex operations,parallel product development andshortened development times neces-sitate further development of availa-ble simulation and presentationtechnologies and improvement oftheir interaction with 3-D environ-ments. What is more, digital datawill increasingly also be presented inreal environments. This opensdiverse options for user interactionsuch as haptic feedback and makesvirtual environments extremely real -istically experienceable.

Virtual Technologies PresentPotentials for Saving EnergyGerman economic growth increasinglydepends on the speed at which inno-vative product developments are laun-ched on the market. What is more,customers are imposing ever morecustomized demands on products butare unwilling to pay higher prices forthem. In order to be able to surviveinternational competition, Germanenterprises are banking increasinglyon virtual technologies becausecomputerized product developmentopens considerable potentials forsavings. However, commercially available soft-ware products reach their limits whenit comes to realistic representation,processing larger amounts of data,natural interaction in virtual environ-ments, real-time compatible simula-tion and suitable input devices. Thus,a complete virtual representation of acomplex product or an entire factoryis an impossibility.

Therefore, a consortium of leadingGerman industrial companies, smalland medium-sized enterprises (SME)and well-known research organiza -tions has set itself the goal of devel -oping and testing efficient virtual andaugmented reality technologies in theAVILUS technology network. Thisproject is the mainstay of the VirtualTechnologies Innovation Alliance.Twenty-eight highly successful part-ners from key German industries suchas car making, aircraft manufacturing,shipbuilding and plant manufacturingrepresent all the fields of expertisenecessary for the project's success.Thus, the entire process from productdevelopment to manufacturing upthrough marketing and maintenanceis efficiently covered with resources.

Project Partners

A. R. T. GmbH, WeilheimAirbus Deutschland GmbH,Hamburg Bauhaus University WeimarCarl Zeiss AG, OberkochenCeBeNetwork GmbH, BremenDaimler AG, UlmEADS Deutschland GmbH, MunichFlexilution GmbH, CologneForschungsuniversität KarlsruheFraunhofer IFF, MagdeburgICIDO GmbH, StuttgartINDEX-Werke GmbH & Co. KG,EsslingenKUKA Roboter GmbH, AugsburgKUKA Systems GmbH, Augsburgmetaio GmbH, MunichOtto von Guericke UniversityMagdeburgRittal GmbH & Co KG, HerbornRWTH AachenSiemens AG, NürnbergTechnical University ClausthalTechnical University MunichHDW GmbH, KielUniversity Koblenz-LandauVolkswagen AG, Wolfsburg3DInteractive GmbH, Ilmenau

Reference No.: 01IM08001

Virtual Technologies for Trainingand Everyday OperationsThe information age is opening newforms of effective learning and mar -keting for specific target groups. Thus,technologies employed for computergames will be developed further toutilize them for basic and advancedemployee training. Rather than stand -ard solutions, customers are increas -ingly demanding products tailoredprecisely to their needs. This makes itessential to develop new presentation

22 IFFOCUS 2/2008

technologies that facilitate the cus -tomization of presentations and con -figuration of products. The methodsand technologies being developed inAVILUS are intended to link virtualtechnologies with the real world ofwork in Germany. They shall be direc-tly integrated in everyday operationsin near real-time and tested in realuser situations.

Some of the applications being devel -oped in the subprojects include:

– Realistic vehicle representation inan early stage of development thatdispenses with physical prototypes,

– Benchmarking of digital data frommanufacturing facilities with plantsconstructed later (feedback for thedigital factory),

– Employee support in order pickingor service and

– Product presentation in the custo-mer setting.

Contact: Werner SchreiberVolkswagen KonzernForschung "Virtuelle Techniken"Brieffach 011/1511038436 WolfsburgTel. 05361 9-785 97Telefax 05361 9-782 14werner.schreiber@volkswagen.de

Warehouse order picking with augmentedreality. Photos: Dirk Mahler

Virtual Technologies as a Com-petitive EdgeA hallmark of globally competingGerman enterprises is their capa-bility to develop, produce andoperate highly complex products.That said, Germany is a countrywith high labor costs. Given thedemand for ever more complexand customized products, compa-nies are banking increasingly onvirtual technologies becausecomputerized product develop-

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We’re Developing the FutureAVILUSplus Applied Virtual Technologies Focused Long-range on the Product andProduction Equipment Life Cycle

Marco Schumann

The project AVILUSplus is closely rela-ted to the AVILUS technologynetwork, which, as a consortium ofbusiness and research partners, isdeveloping efficient virtual andaugmented reality technologies. OnceAVILUS had started, it quickly becameapparent that demand exists for tech-nologies requiring longer-term rese-arch. Since the scientific and commer-cial success entails more risks, ninewell-known research organizationsfocused more on basic research joined

forces to take on this challenge in theproject AVILUSplus. Preliminary workwas contributed by the ViVERA VirtualNetwork of Competence for Virtualand Augmented Reality. Its partnersare already able to look back onsuccessful collaboration in this field.

ment promises substantially higherefficiency and considerable potentialsto save time and resources. However,commercially available softwareproducts reach their limits when itcomes to realistic representation,processing larger amounts of data,natural interaction in virtual environ-ments, real-time compatible simula-tion and suitable input devices.

Long-range TechnologyDevelopmentThe thematic foci of the AVILUSplussubprojects correspond to theAVILUS-partners' given technologies.Additional research expected to holdgreat potential for future use wasidentified in direct consultation withthe AVILUS partners. The technolo-gies in AVILUSplus have beenmatched to five thematic foci:

Information Management in theProduct Life Cycle: Virtual reality isprimarily associated with the presen-tation of visual representations.However, this additionally requiresinformation that describes thecharacteristics of virtual objects andtheir responses to user interaction.Therefore, a significant goal of tech-nology development is to designautomated solutions that can gene-rate multimedia instructions foraction. The future goal is to automa-tically generate virtual proceduresbased on real procedures and thussignificantly reduce developmentwork.

Simulation and Rendering: Theextent to which virtual technologiescan be productively implementedand are accepted depends on thelevel of realism, detail and physicalaccuracy of simulations of complexmodels and object characteristics invirtual or mixed reality environ-ments. Among others, methods tosimulate object characteristics physi-cally accurately in real time arebeing developed. Virtual commis -sioning of a manufacturing processrequires the development of a solu-tion that links real control compo-nents and virtual scenarios. Forrendering, i.e. the calculation of arealistic graphic volume model or ananimation from a computer model,this means reproducing productsand attributes, e.g. coated surfaces,physically accurately and with maxi-mum quality. Altogether more real -istic and detailed image calculationis the goal.

Tracking: Tracking real objects toobtain information on the course oftheir movements and their position isa crucial prerequisite for virtual andaugmented reality. Until now, trackingsolutions have only functioned in envi-ronments with special markings forthem and under restricted lightingconditions. A fundamental goal hereis to improve the reliability of marker-less tracking.

IFFOCUS 2/2008 25

Interaction: As new hardware compo-nents are developed, new conceptualmodels are being researched, whichenable people to interact with virtualenvironments. Research is being doneon image-based interaction forinstance. Sensors transmit informationon the environment to a head-moun-ted display (HMD) that displayscomputer generated images on amonitor close to the eyes or projects

them directly onto the retina. Otherresearch is being done on completelynew options for interaction betweenhumans and virtual objects, e.g. thedevelopment of a tactile artificial skin.In the future, this could allow directhuman-machine interaction in a mixedreality environment.

Geometry Capture: Rapid andprecise capture of the geometry ofreal objects is essential for thedetection of planning errors in thesuperimposition of CAD data andreal models. Research is beingconcentrated on methods of 3-Dmeasurement that can be combinedwith augmented reality technolo-gies. Other methods are beingdevel oped to identify and inspectobjects. Thus, the correctness of thesequences of a maintenance orassembly procedure can be testedand a warning signal triggeredwhen a work step is incorrect.Differential geometries present anydiscrepancies that result when realcaptured and digitally designed 3-Dobjects are aligned.

Contact:Marco SchumannCentral ViVERA/AVILUS+ OfficeTel. 0391 4090-158Fax 0391 4090-93-158Marco.Schumann@iff.fraunhofer.de

Project Partners

Fraunhofer IFF and Virtual Develop ment and Training Centre, Magdeburg (Consortium Manager) Fraunhofer IAO, StuttgartFraunhofer IESE, KaiserslauternFraunhofer IGD, Darmstadt andRostockFraunhofer IPK, BerlinFraunhofer IWU, ChemnitzGerman Research Center forArtificial Intelligence DFKI,Saarbrücken and Kaiserslau ternTechnical University Munich

Reference No.: 01IM08002

Real-time rendering of material properties while simultaneously reproducing physically accurateillumination is one of the Simulation and Rendering Group's specializations. Image: DFKI

Confidently into the Future withReliable TechnologyViERforES Virtual and Augmented Reality for Maximum Embedded SystemSafety, Security and Reliability

Prof. Michael Schenk and Prof. Gunter Saake, Spokesmen of the Digital Engineering Center in DevelopmentMarco Schumann, ViERforES Coordinator

IFFOCUS 2/2008 27

Virtual Technologies for Safety,Security and ReliabilityComputer technology plays a domi-nant role in everyday life. Embeddedsystems are increasingly controllingand monitoring equipment used everyday without a second thought. InGermany, the proportion of productsthat contain embedded systemsmakes up approximately 80% of thetotal value added. To compete inter-nationally, German companies in thissector are increasingly banking onvirtual technologies to meet theirneeds to cut time and resources andshorten development and testingtimes as demands for product func -tionality and customization continuegrowing.

As the complexity of systems increasesso do the demands for safety, secu-rity, availability and reliability. In theproject ViERforES, researchers fromMagdeburg specialized in virtual andaugmented reality and fromKaiserslautern specialized in embed-ded systems are jointly working onconcepts intended to help enterprisesoptimize their products in this respect.Properties that normally remain invisi-ble will take on form in virtual envi-ronments and visualize the perfor-mance of software in machinery andequipment with the goal of makingDVD recorders, cars or entire powerplants function more safely, securelyand reliably.

Visualization of PropertiesMany systems' safety, security, availa-bility and reliability are controlled bytheir software. Virtual technologieswith different attributes are inter-connected to provide these propertiesduring product design, testing andoperation. Established representationsof real products based on virtual 3-Dmodels are being connected withnovel, easily learnable and/or intuiti-vely comprehensible visualizations ofproperties without a physical counter-part, e.g. safety and security.

Humans' pronounced sense of sightallows them to quickly take incomplex information, identify what isrelevant at a glance and disregardwhat is irrelevant. Given humans'ability to do this, it seemed expedientto employ human sight for the analy-sis of important data. Representingsuch abstract information as safety,security and reliability with virtualtechnologies so that they are clearlyperceptible will be essential.

Embedded systems are virtually neverstand-alone systems. Rather, theycommunicate on various levels withmechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic,electronic or IT systems. They greatlyinfluence the properties of safety,security, reliability and availability andare a crucial competitive factor for theautomotive, pharmaceutical, utilities,manufacturing and material handlingindustries.

ApplicationsIndustrial Engineering: Enablinghumans and robots to interact inincreasingly more flexible manufactu-ring processes will necessitate assuringthat individuals cannot be injured.Apart from safe and secure robotcontrol systems, a technology isneeded that reliably captures individu-als and their movements in a robot'swork space. This might require acomplex multisensor system consistingof laser scanners, ultrasonic sensors,tactile sensors, thermal and PMDcameras. The individual sensorsystems are embedded systems inten-ded to communicate according todefined timing and identify unclearsituations. Virtual technologies willrepresent a particular situation so thatit is intuitively comprehensible andidentify potential hazards.

Material Handling Systems andLogistics:Operations and communica-tion in international logistics arelargely virtualized and automated.

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All available process data, e.g. trans-port management, will have to beprovided on mobile objects and incontrol centers to monitor autono-mous logistics processes.

Medical Engineering: Virtual technolo-gies are being developed for effectivetraining systems for surgeons and forfuture intelligent surgical instrumentsto assure the quality of minimallyinvasive surgery. These technologiessimulate a realistically experiencedsurgical procedure. The intention is tovisualize any plane of preoperativeslice images (CT, MRT) as a functionof a user's gaze and position and tosuperimpose them onto the real sceneby using suitable displays.

28 IFFOCUS 2/2008

Power Engineering: New virtualtechnologies will enable operators ofelectric power systems and energyconversion plants to visualized infor-mation to fully monitor their plants,promptly detect faults and initiatenecessary maintenance measures ifnecessary.Automotive engineering: Methodsand systems at the interfacebetween mechatronics, softwareengineering and virtual technologieswill be developed to addresscomplex safety issues that ensuefrom the widespread use of embed-ded controllers in the automotiveindustry. System safety, security andreliability shall not only be evaluatedbut also incorporated in the designprocess at an early stage.

Contact:Marco SchumannCentral VIERforES Office,CoordinationTel. 0391 4090-158Telefax 0391 4090-93-158Marco.Schumann@iff.fraunhofer.de

Project Partners

Fraunhofer IESE, KaiserslauternFraunhofer IFF, MagdeburgOtto von Guericke UniversityMagdeburg School of Medicine, Otto vonGuericke University MagdeburgTechnical University Kaiserslautern

Reference No.: 01IM08003

Automation increases the risk of error.While the identification of thecontents of a closed container withwireless sensors may save time forinstance, it also reduces the capabilityto react to potential variations in thedesired condition of items. Suchsystems attempt to resolve thisproblem self-controlled. An individualin a control center or near a givenitem is only notified when a pre-defi-ned critical stage is reached. In thefuture, the decision making situationwill be visualized and, for example,allow for the uncertainties of thewireless sensor systems used and thelocal logics of the embedded systems.

Virtual reality provides many advantages for the planning, engineering and reliable operation ofplants. Pictured here is a visualization in the Elbe Dom at the Fraunhofer IFF VDTC in Magdeburg.

Even representation on a scale of 1:1 is possible.

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Turning Ideas into Products FasterVIDET Innovation Cluster Is Boosting the Innovative Capability of Saxony-Anhalt’sSmall and Medium-sized Enterprises with Virtual Technologies

Dr. Reiner Haseloff, Saxony- Anhalt Minister of Economics and Labor and Innovation CommissionerProf. Michael Schenk, Director of the Fraunhofer IFF

IFFOCUS 2/2008 31

The use of virtual technologieshas become a decisive factor forthe development and manufac-turing of innovative products.They help save important resour-ces and simultaneously establishthe basis for more intelligent in-novations. Thus, they themselveshave become important resour-ces in international competition.A project supported by theFraunhofer-Gesellschaft and thestate of Saxony-Anhalt to devel -op a regional innovation cluster,VIDET is intended to facilitate re-gional small and medium-sizedlarge machinery and plant man -ufacturing enterprises' access toinnovative research services thatemploy virtual technologies.They shall profit from researchorganizations' developmentsand thus boost their own com-petitiveness.

Saxony-Anhalt's economy is develop -ing excellently. Our region is well onits way to emerging from the mostradical structural transformation inrecent history behind it. After theregional economic structures collapsedin the early 1990s, it took some timebefore visions evolved, ideas could betranslated into action, new industriescould establish themselves and oldones could recover. Apart from suchfuture technologies as biotechnologyand renewable energy recovery tech-nologies, primarily traditional branchesof industry in the region have profitedfrom this development. Machineryand automotive manufacturing, theprocessing industry, the chemicalindustry and chemical plant manufac-turing now account for every thirdjob.

That is extremely good news. Yet intimes of globalization, resting on ourlaurels would be the wrong strategy.The conditions change too quickly.Serious competitors spring up else-where. Technological advances forceobsolescence. It is never too late tounfurl a few more sails to catch thefresh wind. This is the only way to seta sustained course.

Not least, such sails include novel,innovative methods of industrial deve-lopment and manufacturing. Theircore function is to help respond tofast-paced global markets. Mostenterprises are being compelled toprovide ever better and even newerproducts faster and faster. Henceproduct life cycles are growing shortereverywhere. Manufacturers mustroutinely present new innovations andthe competition is constantly strivingto gain the upper hand. This meanscosts have to be reduced, time savedand processes optimized.

A new achievement will particularly beable to help meet these twenty-firstcentury challenges: Virtual technolo-gies. They have already entered

routine industrial manufacturingprocesses. Initially and primarily uti -lized for virtual prototyping in car -makers' development units, theirpotential uses now extend throughoutthe entire product life cycle in indus -trial enterprises.

Virtual technologies can now not onlythree-dimensionally representproducts in detail but also entiremanufacturing processes, simulateplant functions and plan completefactories in no time. New products

and machinery are produced in virtualreality where they can be disassem -bled, tested and improved evenbefore they have actually been con -structed at all. They support the opti-mization of plant control systemsbefore plant construction is finished,better organization of scheduling andoperations and more extensive andfaster training of employees. Theseare important advantages in inter -national competition wherever resour-ces have to be conserved and time,money and energy saved to be abledevelop and launch one's products onthe market even faster.

Virtual technologies bring great benefitsthroughout the entire digital process chain.

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However, hardly any of the small andmedium-sized enterprises that makeup the major part of the businessscene in Saxony-Anhalt are able tocover such expenditures on their own.To this end, the state initiated theproject Virtual Development,Engineering and Training VIDETtogether with the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. VIDET is a research andinnovation cluster that concertedlyprovides regional SME support toimplement and utilize virtual technolo-gies, particularly emphasizing largemachinery and plant manufacturing.The project has been established atthe Fraunhofer IFF and is part of thePact for Research and Innovation –one of the Bund-Länder Commissionfor Educational Planning and ResearchPromotion's support programs.

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Guided by the motto "strengtheningstrengths", regional fields of tech-nology are being supported with thegoal of delivering results that aretransferrable to practice and of utilityfor local businesses.

Thus, VIDETis intended to generatemore important impulses for enter -prises from Saxony-Anhalt to surviveglobal competition. Focusing on themachinery and plant engineering andproducing industries, it will helpenable enterprises to decisively stepup their product development bygiving them recourse to high-techtools. This will accelerate the processfrom an idea to a finished productand facilitate the creation of moreinnovations. The enterprises' en -hanced performance will ultimatelybenefit the entire state. Only well-positioned enterprises equal to theinternational competition will be ableto sustain Saxony-Anhalt's positiveeconomic development in the futuretoo. Thus, the economic significanceof such key industries for the regionwill also be incorporated in the draft -ing of structural support measures.

Regional enterprises are cooperatingclosely with such research organi -zations as the Fraunhofer IFF andMagdeburg's Max Planck Institute aswell as Otto von Guericke Universityin VIDET to implement their objec-tives. Everyone involved is workingjointly on applied solutions to imple-ment virtual technologies in industryin order to make advanced technolo-gies accessible to local enterprises fortheir own production and productdevelopment. Moreover, the interdis-ciplinary approaches expand the ser -vices offered to firms to train theirown R&D staff to work with virtualtechnologies. The cooperation withenterprises from the key industriesand R&D organizations is being speci-fically supported with public funds.On the one hand, this is intended toovercome any potential barriers tocontact between the two and, on the

However, keeping up with the timesrequires enterprises appreciable invest-ments from time to time. Expendituresare particularly high in the machineryand plant manufacturing industrywhere extremely expensive andcomplex products are normally devel -oped. Yet, this is precisely where theuse of virtual technologies particularlypays off. When complex individualplants or small lots are produced, i.e.high value capital goods, any designfailure is painfully reflected in thebudget. Digital engineering makes itpossible to largely avoid such errorsfrom the start while simultaneouslyenhancing quality and dependability.

Virtual model of a generator made by AEM Dessau GmbH.

other hand, to encourage the forma-tion of networks sustainable beyondjoint projects.

Thematically, the specialization inautomotive research is closely con -nected to VIDET. The Fraunhofer IFFand Otto von Guericke University arejointly researching new developmentsfor the automotive industry and itssuppliers. The research organizationsinvolved see themselves as providersof input for regional business. Theconnections established will transferthe basic research findings acquired inthe projects to enterprises where theywill be implemented in applied solu -tions. The VIDET project is initially

planned through 2010. The success ofother already completed projects hasmade the rounds . Our project isconvincing more and more customers. It is a success story in which bothpartners, business and research, areprofiting from one another.

Contact:Thomas SchulzeCentral VIDET OfficeTel. 0391 4090-820Telefax 0391 4090-93-820Thomas.Schulze@iff.fraunhofer.de

Virtual reality for the automotive industry.Photo: Viktoria Kühne

One-source expertise

www.fasa-ev.de

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Weld at Heart

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Virtual Controllers for ElectronBeam Welding Robots

Prof. Ulrich Schmucker, Torsten Böhme

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Electron beam welding reallygets the job done. While it canjoin metal materials faster anddeeper than most other weldingmethods, controlling the weld -ing robot under the workingconditions is a great challenge.

In the Fraunhofer VIDET Innova-tion Cluster, the Fraunhofer IFFdeveloped new methods for im-proved and highly efficient robotcontrol for pro-beam, the Euro-pean technology leader in civili-an electron beam welding.

Great Effort – Great EffectElectron beam welding is a particularlydemanding and extremely effectiveprocess. High voltage electrons areaccelerated in a high vacuum andcombined by a triode system to beapplied to material at short distance.Upon impact, the majority of elec-trons' kinetic energy is transformedinto heat. Since air molecules woulddecelerate the electrons, welding isdone in a vacuum.

The great time and effort required isjustified. Its efficiency of approxima-tely 70 percent makes electron beamwelding one of the most effective andprecise methods to permanently joinmetal materials. It can fuse metalsthat would normally hardly bond withone another. Not even refractorymetals can resist an electron beam'senergy density. Thus, even mixedbonds, e.g. steel and bronze, can beproduced.

Welds Up to 100 mm DeepThe high welding speeds possible andthe capability to produce particularlydeep and extremely exact welds isparticularly important. Depending onthe material, welds can be 0.3 to 100millimeters deep. In addition, sincewelds have such narrow widths, mate-rial barely warps despite the highthermal energy. Not least, this bene-fits the welding of particularly smallwelds. In addition, electrical fields canbe employed to deflect the electronbeam, thus making it possible toproduce very complex bonds.

All this makes electron beam weldingone of the key technologies of thefuture and particularly interesting forthe production of automotive andaerospace components. Other bran-ches of industry such as plant manu-facturing are also joining in.

Complicated Welding Robot ControllersWelding in large vacuum chambershas one crucial disadvantage. Theentire procedure can only be con -trolled externally, making it extremelycomplicated. Cameras and weldingrobots replace a welder's eyes andhands. The electron beam is directedalong the metal on preprogrammedpaths to ensure work is nonethelessprecise. However, exactly calculatingthe entire procedure in advance andthen controlling it proves to be ex -tremely difficult. Unforeseen problemscrop up again and again,starting withcomplications induced by design,which planning can only inade quatelyfactor in, up through obstacles theautomatic welding system itself placesin the robot's path and on which itcan get hung up.

Until now, experts had no choice butto program iteratively. Bit by bit, errorby error, they worked toward optimalprogramming for the robot until itultimately welded a componentperfectly. While the procedure yieldsthe desired result, it is extremely timeconsuming and additionally consumesinordinately many resources.

The Search for AlternativesThe European technology leader inthe field of civilian electron beamwelding, pro-beam AG & Co. KGaA inBurg in Saxony-Anhalt also struggledwith this problem. The companyspecializes in the development,construction and sale of vacuumchambers for electron beam weldingand is also a quality contract manu-facturer for the large and special plantmanufacturing industry. Dissatisfiedwith present methods and in searchof possibilities to improve on them,the company turned to the FraunhoferIFF in Magdeburg and its specialists todevelop virtual system controls.

Virtual Programming and ControlTo solve the problem, specialists fromthe Fraunhofer IFF proposed program-ming the robot virtually in the future.To this end, they virtualized the entiresystem and thus made the robot'swork environment and travel preciselycalculable. Combined with the like-wise virtualized digital design data ofthe components to be welded, it isnow possible to exactly simulate therobot's movement in advance. Therobot's programming is now enteredinto the simulation environment.

36 IFFOCUS 2/2008

Incorporating distinctive features of adesign and fully independent of thematerials, spatial conditions or otherinfluencing factors, the system controlengineer can virtually observe themachinery's performance in thewelding chamber based on theprogramming. Erroneous weldingcommands, adverse features of robotdesign or the robot's suspension, etc.are now revealed at a glance. Theycan be counteracted without causingany damage by appropriately modify-ing the programming. Virtual opti-mization of travel allows flawlesslyexecuting a weld for certain compo-nent configurations in one operation.

As part of the VIDET project theyfund, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft andthe state, in association with otherresearch organizations in the state,are actively supporting regional smalland medium-sized enterprises' devel -opments. The goal of the VIDET(Virtual Development, Engineering andTraining) Innovation Cluster is to facili-tate regional large equipment andplant manufacturing companies'implementation and use of virtualtechnologies. This is intended to boosttheir international competitivenessand help sustainably strengthen theirmarket position.

pro-beam AG & Co. KGaA in Burg, SLV Halle GmbH, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg and FEMCOS GmbH are actively collaborating withFraunhofer IFF researchers in the project Electron Beam Welding: Key Technology for Large Plant Manufacturing of the Future.

Exceeded ExpectationsThis alone is a considerableadvance. However, the Fraunhoferspecialist's method is so effectivethat it not only ultimately eliminat -ed the previous method of itera-tive work but also so increasedsystem effectiveness that partspreviously only producible withgreat difficulty can now be weldedeffortlessly. Even extremely smallor large complex parts with com -plicated weld geometries such asturbines can now be manufactu-red. The results have even exceed -ed the expectations for the newmethod of virtual control. Thus,the substantial savings in time andresources and the expansion ofthe range of products will quicklyredeem the higher costs incurredby the development and imple-mentation of the method.

This does not conclude furtherdevelopment of the process.Fraunhofer IFF experts in virtualplant simulation have additionallydeveloped a tool that can be usedto virtually engineer the weldsthemselves. It finally combinesrobot kinematics data and theCAD data of the component beingmachined. This again shortensprep time for welding and boostsproductivity even more.

Contact:Torsten BöhmeVirtual EngineeringTel. 0391 4090-234Telefax 0391 4090-93-234Torsten.Boehme@iff.fraunhofer.de

IFF

FraunhoferInstitut Fabrikbetriebund -automatisierung

5th Guest Lecture Series

Virtual Reality: Human and Machine in Inter active Dialog

October 22, 2008 Virtual Firefighting: Technical Basics and Market Analysisfor a Serious Game, Dr. Uwe von Lukas, Computer Graphics Center, Rostock

October 29, 2008 Camera-based Calibration of Vision Systems:Autoallignment – Recalibration – Dynamic Viewpoint Correction, Christoph Bode, domeprojection.com, Magdeburg

November 5, 2008 PLM Based Digital Mockup, Dr. Bernd Reckmann, SiemensProduct Life Cycle Management Software GmbH, Cologne

November 12, 2008 Virtual Engineering in Robot-based Logistics,Dr. Albrecht Hoene, KUKA Roboter GmbH, Augsburg

November 19, 2008 VR Technologies in Engineering and Qualification:Motive and Prospects for Cooperation with Applied Research,Jürgen Reiner, STAEDTLER Mars GmbH & Co. KG, Nürnberg; Alexander Kroys,Fraunhofer IFF, Magdeburg

November 26, 2008 Interactive 3-D Visualization for Operations Planning: From Research to the Produkt, Prof. Bernhard Preim, Otto von GuerickeUniversity Magdeburg

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Trouble-proofed Plant OperationThe “Virtual Commissioning” Technology Platform Shortens Startup Processes

Torsten Böhme

Earlier, the testing and optimization of a plant that began once it had been constructed wasfrequently based on the principle of trial and error. Damage could never be ruled out and had to beaccepted. Today, that's a thing of the past. In the TECVICOM project, the Fraunhofer IFF developedvirtual functional plant models that already allow optimization and control system developmentparallel to construction. That saves time and resources and additionally guarantees maximum plantreliability right from the start.

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IFFOCUS 2/2008 39

At first glance, Holzindustrie TemplinGmbH is a medium-sized companylike any other in the industry. Itconcentrates on business with thenatural resource timber and structuralelements made of it. Down-to-earth,located in central Uckermark betweenBerlin and Neubrandenburg, thecompany does not immediately makethe impression of being a con signeeand user of high-tech from Magde -burg's Fraunhofer Institute for FactoryOperation and Automation IFF.Appearances are deceiving though.Apart from selling timber and woodenstructural elements, timber treatmentis also part of the com pany's corebusiness. The company uses complexplants for this. They dry the wood andmake it more resistant to attacks fromfungi and microorganisms. This hasbeen done of late by a high tempera-ture drying kiln in a still relativelyunknown process with many advan -tages over conventional meth ods ofwood treatment. It not only enhancestimber visually, making color andgrain appear particularly attractive,but also makes treatment with woodpreservatives largely superfluous.

As in all branches of industrial manu-facturing, cost pressure and thenecessity to steadily boost productionin plant operation are extremely high.Hence, the company was intent onalready meeting the respectivedemands in this plant's developmentphase. Factoring in all the cost factors,Templin staff decided to fully takeadvantage of every technologicaloption available to produce the dryingkiln in the least time possible and toorganize its operation as efficientlyand reliably as possible.

The TECVICOM ProjectTo this end, they turned to the Fraun -hofer IFF in Magdeburg. The Technol -ogy Platform for Virtual Commission -ing or TECVICOM project is devel -oping new methods of improved plantengineering and operation. The re -searchers are particularly focusing on

control system development. Amongother things, the virtual engineeringspecialists are generating accuratesimulations of operation, which areable to reproduce both plants' engi -neering and the resultant functiona-lity. This is the foundation for sup -porting the development process withoptimization and modifying theengineer ing design for later use asspecifically as possible. This will shor-ten construction and commissioningmany times over and additionally vali-date it. Hence, the Fraunhofer IFF wascon tracted both to optimize the wooddrying process in the plant in Templinand develop its control and protectionsystems.

Virtual Drying KilnThe experts from the Fraunhofer IFFreceived digitized geometric structuresof the engineering and its kinematicdata to design a detailed computersimulation of the drying kiln. Thismodel served as the basis to calculatethe flow characteristics inside thedrying chamber to have a basis tooptimally modify the overall design.That was not enough though. Parallelto optimizing the plant design and itsconstruction, the virtual model wasalso utilized to develop and test thecontrol system and process moni -toring. This made it possible to beginsimulating the flow in the fully virtu -alized plant without having to wait forreal components to be manufactured.

Thus, a fully functioning, optimizedplant including perfectly functioningcontrol and process monitoringsystems were delivered to the facility'sowner, the company, from the verybeginning.

Four Advantages of Virtual PlantEngineeringThis reveals the first of four keyadvantages virtually engineered plantsgenerate, namely its use to supportdevelopment. Without advancedvirtual engineering technologies, it isimpossible to adequately test controlsystem development before complexplants are fully finished. Instead,parallel construction of such a plant invirtual reality makes it possible to testit and its functions before completion– without having to take any risks.Thus, every step and every phase ofdevelopment and construction can bevirtually tested and validated inadvance before real implementationbegins. A plant is not only optimallylaid out but also much more reliablein terms of design errors and malfunc-tions.

Another advantage is the option ofvirtual conversion, for example, shouldnew equipment or equipment withmodified functions be integrated inthe plant. The equipment can betested virtually beforehand for optimalintegration in concert with the overall

Charging the high temperature drying kiln. Photo: Torsten Böhme

Finally a functional, virtual plant simu-lation enables project managers tocomprehensive grasp the particularsituation in the phases of construc-tion. This also allows them to betterassess the development situation andthus establishes an optimal startingpoint for other planning steps.

Modular Structure Enables Cross-Process UseIn their totality, such integrated simu-lation models are subject to the plat-form idea and basically pursue aninterdisciplinary approach. Virtualmodels can be coupled with realmachinery and freely combinedregardless of application. Suchflexibility makes the Fraunhofer IFFexperts' approach particularly userand customer friendly. The system an be implemented cross-processand customized to specific needs.

The client in Templin was highly satis-fied with the work from Magdeburg'sFraunhofer Institute. They were ableto optimize the wood drying processas desired and already develop thecontrol and process monitoring forthe plant directly in the model duringconstruction. Thus, it was commis -sioned significantly earlier than if ithad been developed conventionally.As a consequence, valuable resourceswere conserved, significant time was

40 IFFOCUS 2/2008

saved, the standard of safety is higherand more value added was created.

Virtual Systems Control in the LifeScience SectorThe developers at Magdeburg's Fraun -hofer IFF demonstrated the flexibilityof their modular approach in anotherproject too. Under the heading "labautomation", a company in the lifescience sector contracted them tosimplify the control system for anautomated test system and make itaccessible to non-experts.

Problems Controlling ComplexSystemsThe task encompassed a widespreadproblem, i.e. frequent lack of under-standing of a system on the part of itsactual users. Automated test systemsthat independently conduct pro -grammed experiments and tests havebeen implemented in many scientificlabs. Normally, such systems are veryuse ful. However, they are just as diffi-cult to operate as they are expensive.The desired effect of relieving labtechnicians of work frequently nevermanifest itself. The system controlfrequent ly proves to be far toocomplex and often requires specialknowledge of programming, some-thing for which the well trained andspecialized medical technical lab assi-

plant. This reduces cost intensivedowntimes considerably during retro-fitting and subsequent function tests.Thirdly, digital plant simulation can beutilized cross-process and thus foroperator training on a virtual model.The representation of functions ena -bles staff members to train correctequipment operation, simulate emer-gencies and the appropriate responsesor test the integration of componentson a real controller module and avirtual interface. Consequently, per -sonnel is better qualified right fromthe start and effective plant operationis significantly enhanced.

Fourthly, plant simulation makes iteasier to communicate the status ofwork during development andconstruction. Both control systemdevelopers and engineers always havethe overall construction before them.This virtual model enables them toconsult on current phases of con -struction, problems or further stepsmuch faster and more effectively. Theadditional option of compiling a func-tional performance specification forthe plant is a factor not to be unde-restimated. It can consolidate all therequirements for all the componentsintegral to development.

Lateral view of the gas velocity distribution toward the y-coordinate with optimized withoptimized installed components, calculated with Fluent©.

IFFOCUS 2/2008 41

stants are often unprepared. Thislowers their acceptance of technologythat is extremely helpful in principle.Often it then stands around unusedand valuable resources are wasted. Therefore, the Fraunhofer IFF aimedto make access to and operation ofthe system easy enough for staff thatthey need no prior knowledge tointeract with it. This necessitatedenabling staff to plan experimentsin the famil iar environment of thesystem. After ward, the automatedsystem would perform the experi-ments as desired. Ultimately as easy as it was simple, the solution wouldhave been inconceivable withoutvirtual reality tech nologies.

Comprehensible User InterfacesThanks to VirtualizationThe engineers produced a virtual userinterface that reproduces the labstaff's familiar work environment.It functions as a flexible translationinterface between human staffers andthe technical system. Medical techni-cal lab assistants can use it to planexperiments just as in their real work-place with familiar instruments suchas pipettes and incubators withoutgetting slowed down by complexprogramming. The system auto -matically transmits commands to theequipment, which can then performthe experiments independently. Inputexperiments are not bound by aunique test setup. The virtual engi -neering specialists configured the

system so that it can ultimately beimplemented in very different systemand lab configurations. Subsequentadjustments to the original planningare unnecessary.

This effective solution is a model ofthe flexible application virtual technol -ogies even to develop control systemsfor equipment and technical operatingsystems.

Contact:Torsten BöhmeVirtual EngineeringTel. 0391 4090-234Telefax 0391 4090-93-234Torsten.Boehme@iff.fraunhofer.de

Training scenario for medical technical training in a virtual lab. This work step is concerned with applying the primary antibody to a tissue section.

42 IFFOCUS 2/2008

Keeping a Sharp Eye on NatureAutomatic 3-D Modeling of Barley SeedsProf. Udo Seiffert

IFFOCUS 2/2008 43

To do so, researchers at Magde-burg's Fraunhofer IFF are develop -ing standardized four-dimensionalvirtual models of grains. They areintended to help better under-stand the processes inside suchseeds and create new, pest resis -tant or higher yielding varieties.

A Quest Inside Plants6.7 billion people now live on ourplanet. At present, an estimated220,000 are added per day and aglobal population of over 8.3 billionpeople is expected by 2030. Thisdevelopment raises the question ofhow we will be able to feed such alarge number of people in the futurewithout ever more cultivated areasdepleting our natural resources forgood. The answers are complex.Efforts to make agriculture more effi-cient (e.g. precision agriculture) andthus produce higher-yielding crops aswell as improve methods of cultivationare assuming a key role. Thus, furtherincreases in the yields of cereal grainssuch as rice, wheat or barley havemajor importance for a future supplyof sufficient food.

Exactly understanding the processesof plant growth and development inbiology and agriculture will be instru-mental in providing this. Climatechange, adaptive agriculture, pestresistance and overcoming the conse-quences of monocultures are some ofthe catchphrases that describe thework of researchers from various disci-plines interested in the mechanisms ofgrowth and development that takeplace in the heart of plants. Above all,interest is particularly bestowed onseeds – the principal sources of nutri-ents and suppliers of energy.

However, many processes during plantgrowth have not yet been researchedfully. When exactly, for instance, doesstarch accumulate and where andwhen exactly do the correspondingprocesses of development proceed?What environmental conditions influ-ence these processes and how? Plantsat large are also the object of interest.Growth height, pest resistance orclimate resistance are important indi-cators for their use under differentenvironmental conditions.

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Famine, climate change, overpo-pulation – Famine, climate change,overpopulation – given this situ -ation, precise understanding ofprocesses of plant growth anddevelopment is playing an increas -ingly important role. Therefore,researchers all over the world areworking to unlock these secrets ofnature too.

Digital whole grain: A three-dimensional repre-sentation of the surface of a developing barleyseed. Projections of a virtual histological longi-

tudinal and cross section reveal the cellularstructures inside the seed.

44 IFFOCUS 2/2008

Virtual Models Improve Understan-dingTherefore, the Biosystems EngineeringExpert Group at Magdeburg's Fraun -hofer is working on new solutionsthat will make precise, scientificallyquantitative research of the develop-ment processes in grain seeds possiblein the future. The researchers arepursuing the goal of developing newengineering methods that objectivelyidentify biologic structures automati-cally.

They are creating virtual models of abarley seed, which depict an averageseed down to its cellular structure inevery stage of development, as arepresentative example. Unlike thecreation of virtual models of technicalobjects, there is no existing computergenerated design data to fall back on.Rather, to achieve their goal the re -searchers must literally take picturesof nature itself. In the end, theyobtain a clear, virtual picture of theirsubject.

Standardized NatureTechnically, this naturally necessitatesmore than mere observation of abarley seed’s development. Instead,several seeds must each be micro -tomed and analyzed for every indivi-dual stage of development. Theevaluation of many thousand slicesultimately serves as the basis to calcu-late a statistic model that preciselymaps the average genesis of a normalseed. The process of analysis itself isextraordinarily laborious. Up to twentydifferent tissue types are of interest tothe researchers during a barley seed'sentire development process. In orderto be able to ulti mately specify themprecisely, they must be identified inevery preparation (by segmenting)beforehand.

To do so, every individual ultrathinseed section is placed separatelyunder the microscope where it is are

Down to the Cellular LevelMerely conducting fields tests andperfunctorily recording the growth ofplants have long since ceased to beenough. Therefore, researchers areapproaching plants on the cellular andeven molecular levels to unlock alltheir important secrets.

A large number of samples with eachof their different growing conditionsmust be prepared and evaluated sothat plants can be subjected tomeaningful tests with verifiableresults. In particular, the large quantityof complex measured data can nolonger be satisfactorily evaluated withconventional, mostly manual methods.However, precisely these methods areparticularly indispensible because theyenable humans with their outstandingcognitive abilities to flexibly and adap-tively apply their expert knowledgeand creativity.

From model to model.

IFFOCUS 2/2008 45

photographed manually or automati-cally to reassemble the pictures takenas a correct image stack, the laterstandardized three-dimensional model(so-called registration). Since they arecomplex and time consuming worksteps, registration and segmentationought to be automated. The crucialboundary condition is the incorpora-tion of appropriate expert knowledgefrom biologists about seed histologyin the modeling.

Four-dimensional ImagesThis first produces an exact three-dimensional model of an individualseed so that several individuals canthen be applied to further develop astandardized model. Later, this willbecome a four-dimensionally mapped(standardized) barley seed by addingthe development sequence over time.Since any stage of development isobservable at any time, random virtualsections can be created and conclu -sions drawn about the particular stagea seed is in at the moment. Anyonewanting to know where certain devel -opment processes occur on a seedduring growth (from the blossom toapproximately twenty-five days after-ward) can now examine this vividlyand clearly in the virtual simulation.This furnishes the researchers with afour-dimensional map of their re -search plant, which as a function ofthe empirical interest, can be extend -ed with new data as desired. Thiscom parative model provides the basisto conduct automatic, verifiable re -search on various topics all over theworld.

Great InterestUnsurprisingly, there are already anumber of parties interested in theFraunhofer researchers' results. Fore -most are plant research organizationssuch as the Leibniz Institute of PlantGenetics and Crop Plant Research(IPK) in Gatersleben that has beencooperating with the Fraunhofer IFF

in the field of plant biology for severalyears. Other potential users such asmanufacturers of equipment thatproduces highly accurate three-dimen-sional biological preparations (lasermicrodissection) have also made theirinterest known. Their equipment relieson data from the Fraunhofer IFF,which is the basis for controllers forthe cutting lasers that dissect exactsamples of tissues of interest fromgrain seeds.

Complete four-dimensional grain seedvisualization is only intended to be thebeginning though. The know-howgenerated from the model grain seedswill be expanded in the future toautomatic modeling of other biologi-cal objects and thus made accessible

to a large community of users. Whenone considers the abundance of rele-vant crops, their different lines, thedifferent constituents to research andthe multitude of individual stages ofdevelopment, it is quickly evident thata great deal of work awaits the re -searchers. Such work is not onlydemanding and complex but ulti -mately also very promising for ever-yone involved.

Contact:Prof. Udo SeiffertBiosystems EngineeringTel. 0391 4090-107Telefax 0391 4090-93-107Udo.Seiffert@iff.fraunhofer.de

Fraunhofer researchers in the new Biosystems Engineering Expert Group are, for example,developing standardized four-dimensional virtual models of barley seeds. Photo: Dirk Mahler

46 IFFOCUS 2/2008

networks, which he alsomade the topic for hisDiplom thesis in 1993. Hisresearch later brought himto Scotland and Australiawhere he also completedhis first book “on the side”.The researcher is fascinatedby foreign countries. Theacademic traveler managesto combine the pleasantand the utilitarian and thusdevote himself to his otherpassion, photography. Heearned his doctorate in1999 with a dissertation onmotion estimation with arti-ficial neural networks.

Seiffert then worked at theLeibniz Institute of PlantGenetics and Crop PlantResearch (IPK) in Gaters -leben. In a joint projectwith the Fraunhofer IFF,Seiffert worked on interac-tive 3-D visualization inplant biology. He thusbecame familiar with theinstitute and is thrilled atthe potentials of virtualtechnologies. He will beginworking at the VirtualDevelopment and TrainingCentre VDTC in August of2008. Prof. Seiffert willhead the new BiosystemsEngineering Expert Groupand research the furtherdevelopment of methodsof machine learning andimage analysis, data evalu -ation and pattern recogni-tion in the context ofbiology.

Sharp Minds

The Fraunhofer IFF now hasa new Expert Group Bio -systems Engineering headedby Prof. Udo Seiffert. Any -one one who meets Prof.Seiffert for the first timeimmediately falls under hisspell. The forty-one year oldresearcher wants to make adifference. His drive andenthusiasm for research areinfectious.

Udo Seiffert en rolled in theautomation program inMagdeburg in 1988. Hediscovered artificial intelli-gence in his third semester.Seiffert sought a job as astudent assistant in thedepartment and, from thenon, worked intensively onself-organizing neural

Prof. Seiffert Heads Biosystems Engineering

Patients of Steel

Prof. Udo Seiffert always gives thismodel a place of honor. It standsfor his work with self-organizing

neural networks.Photo: Dirk Mahler

Metrology engineer DirkBerndt has passed amilestone. In the summerof 2008, he successfully

... with doctorates

defended his dissertationbefore the examinationcommittee.

Maintenance is a bigissue in industry. Machin -ery runs around the clockin some plants and, logi-cally, wear and malfunc-tions occur after a while.Dr. Frank Ryll is anexpert in the field. "Amaintenance technicianhas to know the besttime to replace parts,"he explains. He devotedhis dissertation to thetopic, which he succes s f -ully defended in June of2008. Dr. Ryll's studydealt with the collectionof assured informationon machinery to subse-quently design an evalu -ation model for proactivemaintenance. "Usually,you try to delay mainte-

nance as long as possible tocut costs and keep produc-tion running. If mainte -nance is performed too latethough, machinery breaksdown and the line comes toa halt," says Dr. Ryll, pro -viding a simple explanationto the secret of mainte -nance.

Before committing himselfto maintenance heart andsoul, the native of Brand -enburg studied medicine."Anatomy didn't go sowell, " recalls Dr. Ryll witha wink. However, diagnosis,checkups and operationsstill have a hold on him –today, his patients aremade of steel.

Dr.Dirk Berndt has a special knack in the micrometer range. Photo:Viktoria Kühne

Of Doctorates and Perfection

IFFOCUS 2/2008 47

tion. The setting was theSaxony-Anhalt Chamber ofEngineers' 1st CentralGerman Engineers Forum.During the panel discussion,Schenk gave talks on "Engi -neers and Innovation" and"Education and YoungEngineers" to more than400 attendees. Afterward,President Jörg Herrmannpresented Schenk with theSaxony-Anhalt Chamber ofEngineers' Badge of Honor.As Director of the Fraun -hofer IFF, State Representa -tive of the Saxony-AnhaltChapter of the VDI and amember of the chamber,Prof. Schenk has been parti-cularly active on behalf ofthe engineering professionand the interests of themembers of the chamber,"praised Herrmann.

The award underscores therecognition Schenk hasearned at home and abroadfor promoting the engi -neering sciences.

The dearth of young pro -fessionals in the naturalsciences is a huge problem,affecting the engineeringsciences in particular.Prof. Michael Schenk isintensely committed toarousing young people'sinterest in careers in tech -nical vocations.

At the end of last year,Prof. Michael Schenk wasrecognized twice for hisoutstanding contribution.During the festivities mark -ing the ninetieth anniver -sary of the PolytechnicalUniversity of Odessa, Presi -dent Malakhov conferredan honorary doctorate onthe logistics expert fromMagdeburg for his achieve-ments in research andteaching. Malakhov recog -nized Schenk's particularinvolvement in the sustain -able development of andcooperation with theUkrainian school in the fieldof engineering sciences.

At home in Saxony-Anhalt,Prof. Schenk was alsohonored for his contribu-

The Manager of theMeasurement and TestingTech nology Business Unit,Dr. Dirk Bernd is an ex -tremely busy man at theFraunhofer IFF. Therefore,he was usually only able toput time into to his disser-tation on "Optical 3-DMeasurement in IndustrialApplications" on weekendsor vacations. An expert inthe field, he has completedjoint projects at the Fraun -hofer IFF with such wellknown partners as Airbus,VW, Siemens and BBS.

Dr. Berndt knows the insti-tute like the back of hishand. After all, he has beenthere since its founding in1992. Upon graduatingwith a degree in equipmentengineering shortly afterthe Wende, he returnedfrom Ilmenau in Thuringia

to his hometown ofMagdeburg.

Professionally, the metrol -ogy engineer has to be aperfectionist. Naturally,this affects his private lifetoo. Size is relative. Thedifferent perceptions ofscale became clear whenhe remodeled his home:"My father-in-law worksas a civil engineer. Forhim, a centimeter is thesmallest unit of measure-ment. As a metrologyengineer, that is far tooinexact for me since I’mused to working in themicrometer range."

International Honors for DirectorSchenk

Prof. Valery Pavlovich Malakhov (second from left) awards Prof. MichaelSchenkan honorary doctorate. Dr. Peter Horn, Prof. Friedrich Krause and

President Klaus Erich Pollmann (l. to r) from Otto Guericke UniversityMagdeburg also received awards.

“Listening is sometimes better than measuring,” knows maintenanceexpert Dr. Frank Ryll. Photo: Dirk Mahler.

48 IFFOCUS 2/2008

Sharp Minds

The First Professor of WindPower Nationwide

Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg isstrengthening its research specialization inrenewable energy systems. Germany's firstprofessor of wind power was appointed inSeptember. At the International CRISWorkshop on Distributed and RenewablePower Generation, University PresidentKlaus Erich Pollmann presented Dr. Antje G.Orths her document of appointment as anHonorary Professor of Renewable Energiesand Wind Power. Antje Orths is one of theleading researchers in the field of windpower systems. She currently works as aSenior Researcher at the Danish utilitycompany Energienet.dk where she isresponsible for planning future powersystems. Prior to that, she headed theCritical Infrastructures Group at theFraunhofer IFF.

Thomas Schulze has great expectations atthe Fraunhofer IFF. He will be initiating jointresearch projects between research andindustry in the Virtual Development, Engi -neering and Training Innovation Cluster.

He is primarily focusing on small andmedium-sized enterprises in Saxony-Anhalt.

2008 Science Award for Logistics Goes toMoritz Gomm

Berlin. Dr. Moritz Gomm from the Technical University Darmstadtreceived the Science Award for Logistics at the 25th GermanLogistics Congress in Berlin.

The BVL has been supportingyoung professionals since 1992by conferring an annual researchaward, called the Science Awardfor Logis tics since 2007.Eligible candidates are research -ers from any domain of logistics

who have authored a disserta-tion or Habilitation dissertation,pro ject study or mono gra ph.Work is judged according to itspracticability and its innovativecharac ter.

Science Awardceremony at the

25th BVL Congress. Photo: BVL

Members of the VDIExecutive Board (l. tor.): Prof. MichaelSchenk, Prof. BrunoO.Braun, Peter Urban,VDI President Dr. WilliFuchs, Joachim Möller,Prof. Rainer Hirsch -berg, Prof. Bernd-Robert Höhn, MichaelDick. Photo: VDI

The Networker Coordinatingthe VIDET Innovation Cluster

Prof. Michael Schenk, Director ofthe Fraunhofer IFF and StateRepresentative of the VDI inSaxony-Anhalt has joined the VDIExecutive Board for three yearsand assumed the chairman shipof the Regional Chapter Advisory

Board. The new mem ber of theVDI Executive Board was electedunanimously at the Boardmeeting in October 2008.Schenk replaces Prof. RainerHirschberg in the new year.

VDI Welcomes Schenk as New Executive BoardMember

Thomas Schulze coordinates the activitie of theVIDET Innovati on Cluster. Photo: Dirk Mahler

IFFOCUS 2/2008 49

Schulze is convinced that "Most of the regio-nal machinery and plant manufacturingcompanies are excellently positioned. Manyhave potential to move up a level. TheFraunhofer IFF is able to provide enterprisesvaluable assistance when they want toupgrade products and produce innovations."The native of Magdeburg attended theuniversity in Leipzig where he majored intechnical cybernetics and automation. Hecompleted his Diplom degree in Magdeburg.He worked as an IT specialist for databasesand networks. The topic of network imple-mentation in machinery and plant manufac-turing led to collaboration with the founderof the Fraunhofer IFF, Prof. EberhardGottschalk. This connection sustained hiscontact to the institute for years. In thesummer of 2008, Prof. Schenk was able torecruit the IT specialist to manage the centraloffice of the VIDET Innovation Cluster. Thecluster's goal is to make virtual technologiesaccessible to small and medium-sized ma -chinery and plant manufacturing companiesin Saxony-Anhalt.

Interested companies may contact ThomasSchulze anytime (Tel. 0391 4090-820,thomas.schulze@iff.fraunhofer.de )

University President Klaus Erich Pollmannreceives wind power expert Dr. Antje Orths in

the circle of pro fessors at the university.Photo: Oliver Heyer

Celebrity cook Ralf Zacherl spoiled the guests at the evening event of the 25thGerman Logistics Congress with culinary delicacies. The TV chef sent IFFocus readers

personal greetings with his autograph: "Cooking is like love – simply boundless."Photo: Anna-Kristina Wassilew

50 IFFOCUS 2/2008

Gallery

The Virtual Development and Training Centre VDTC in Magdeburg's Port of Science. The

experts at the Fraunhofer IFF specialize in applying virtual and digital engineering to plan,

test and operate technical systems. Interdisciplinarily collaborating specialists, including

computer scientists, mechanical engineers and educational scientists, develop customized

solutions on the basis of virtual and augmented reality such as virtual-interactive training for

specialized staff. The remarkable technical facilities make interactive visualizations possible,

for instance, on a large 360 degree laser projection system.

IFFOCUS 2/2008 51

Phot

o: A

ndre

as L

ande

r

52 IFFOCUS 2/2008

Gallery

IFFOCUS 2/2008 53

Phot

o: V

ikto

ria K

ühne

.

Virtual reality furnishes the plant

manufacturing industry many oppor -

tunities and tremendous potential for

savings. Plant engineers at BASF

primarily use the virtual model of a

chemical plant in the design and

construction phase. Before a plant is

built, the engineers and future opera-

tor can discuss designs together and,

later, even test functions. Pictured

here is a visualization in the Elbe Dom,

the large circular laser projection

system at the VDTC in Magdeburg.

54 IFFOCUS 2/2008

Gallery

IFFOCUS 2/2008 55

Phot

o: D

irk M

ahle

r

The process and plant engineering lab at the

Fraunhofer IFF where, for instance, the effective

and environmentally compatible use of renew -

able raw materials to generate power is being

researched in the research project ProBio.

56 IFFOCUS 2/2008

Gallery

IFFOCUS 2/2008 57

Phot

o:

The researchers at the Fraunhofer

IFF are experts in robotics –

whether for facade cleaning,

inspecting sewer lines or assisting

humans. Their newest helper is

RIWEA, a robot that inspects the

rotor blades of wind energy

converters.

The materials of wind energy

converters must witstand

intense forces. The robot

inspects converters' rotor

blades for damage more

meticulously than humans could.

The intelligent inspector ascends

wind energy converters to do its

job.

Editorial Notes

IFFOCUS 2/2008This magazine appears biannually and is

available free of charge to clients, partners,

staff, media and friends.

ISSN 1862-5320

ISBN 978-3-8167-7933-9

PublisherFraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation

and Automation IFF

Prof. Michael Schenk

Director

Sandtorstr. 22

39106 Magdeburg

Germany

Tel.: 0391 4090-0

Telefax: 0391 4090-596

ideen@iff.fraunhofer.de

www.iff.fraunhofer.de

www.vdtc.de

Editorial StaffAnna-Kristina Wassilew

René Maresch

Oliver Heyer

presse@iff.fraunhofer.de

Photos, Images and Graphics© Fraunhofer IFF unless otherwise indicated.

Viktoria Kühne

v.kuehne.foto@t-online.de

Cover photo:

Dirk Mahler

dirkmahler@hotmail.com

Layout/DesignBettina Rohrschneider

TranslationKrister Johnson

Printing Harzdruckerei GmbH

We wish to thank our researchers and

project partners for their support during

the preparation of this publication.

© Fraunhofer IFF, December 2008

October 2009Image Processing Technology DayKaiserslautern

October 28 - December 2, 2009VR Guest Lecture Series: InteractiveHuman and MachineMagdeburg

October 13 - 15, 2009MAINTAIN: The Leading Trade Fairfor Industrial MaintenanceMunich

November 3 - 5, 2009VISION: International Trade Fair forachine Vision and IdentificationTechnologiesStuttgart

November 5, 200912th “Cooperation in Plant Engi -neering” Industry Working Group Leverkusen

Meet up with us:

January 28 - 29, 20092nd Annual Condition Monitoring Forum 2009Düsseldorf

January 28 - 29, 2009Shutdowns & Turnarounds Erfolg reiche Anlagenbestellungen& RevisionenPotsdam

February 2009WSCG 09Plzen, Czech Republic

February 16 - 20, 2009Similarity-based Learning of StructuresSchloss Dagstuhl

February 24 - 27, 2009intec 2009Leipzig

February 26 - 27, 200914th Magdeburg Logistics Confe-rence “Sustainable Logistics”Magdeburg

March 20095th High-End VisualizationWorkshopLouisiana, USA

March 3 - 5, 2009LogiMat 2009Stuttgart

March 3 - 8, 2009CEBITHannover

March 17, 2009Wood Logistics Workshop 2009Hundisburg

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March 30 - April 3, 2009Wasser Berlin International TradeFair and CongressBerlin

April 1 - 2, 2009Holz Innovativ Rosenheim

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April 7 - June 9, 2009Logistics Guest Lecture Series Magdeburg

April 20 - 24, 2009Hannover Messe“Digital Factory”Hannover

April 22 - 24, 200917th European Symposium on Artificial Neural NetworksBruges, Belgium

May 5 - 8, 2009Control: The International TradeFair for Quality AssuranceStuttgart

May 6 - 7, 20092009 Vocational Education DaysMagdeburg

May 12 - 15, 2009transport logistic 2009: 12th International Exhibition forLogistics, Telematics and TransportMunich

May 18 - 22, 2009LIGNA 2009: World Fair for theForestry and Wood IndustriesHannover

June 13, 2009Long Night of ScienceMagdeburg

June 24 - 25, 200930th VDI/VDEh Maintenance ForumLeipzig

September 8 - 10, 2009Federal Armed Forces’ DistanceTraining ConventionHamburg

Outlook

June 16 - 18, 2009 12th IFF Science DaysMagdeburg

Digital Engineering andVirtual Technologies forEngineering, Testing andOperating Technical Systems

Logistics: Efficient and SecureChains of Goods

Technologies for Safe Human-Robot Interaction

Workshop on PatternRecognition, Data Analysisand Modeling in BiomedicalApplications

“Cooperation in PlantEngi neering” IndustryWorking Group

IFF

FraunhoferInstitut Fabrikbetriebund -automatisierung

12th IFF Science Days June 16-18, 2009

www.iff.fraunhofer.de