Long before construction begins, future factories will function as virtual systems. Designers, engineers, suppliers and customers will be able to see the final product before production actually starts. This will accelerate processes, increase flexibility, prevent planning errors and lower costs
to the Scenario

With innovation and design cycles getting shorter each year, companies are under pressure to become not only increasingly flexible, but also more productive and customer-focused. Digitization and virtualization are helping them meet this challenge. In the future, production lines, machine tools, products, and even the entire logistics process will be modeled and tested in advance on computers. Shorter times to market and higher quality will be the result
to the Factory in a Computer

Interview with Dr. Emmerich Schiller, DaimlerChrysler
to the interview

The chemical industry is under pressure to become more flexible and to bring its products to market more quickly. But with huge plants, that's simply not possible—which is why companies are turning to microreaction technology. Siemens is participating in a research project designed to explore the industrial suitability of tiny reactors
to Lilliputian Factories

They are the ultimate track-and-trace technology. They can hold loads of information and be attached to almost anything. Scientists just have to figure out how to manufacture them cheaply enough. When that happens, factories – and the robots that work in them—will be able to micro-manage every phase of production
to Transponders

Pipes and conveyer belts that talk? Valves and bolts with Internet addresses? Factories that harvest maintenance information on each and every part to build expert knowledge for on-the-spot repairs? It's all possible thanks to a developing technology called Speech-Enabled Augmented Reality
to Augmented Reality

Robots, intelligent sensors, the Internet and virtual planning are the driving forces behind the automation industry
to Facts and Forecasts

Interview with Prof. Engelbert Westkämper, Fraunhofer Institute
to the interview

Developments, contacts, links, literature
to the review