Innovative Research Approaches for Optimizing Industrial Working Life Honored
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“This year we were looking for extraordinary ideas with the potential to make a practical contribution to optimizing industrial working life. With the ‘Forum Junge Spitzenforschung’, we want to support early-career researchers and their creative approaches that help companies develop intelligent, sustainable, and efficient solutions,” said Dr. Ronald Kriedel, Head of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Transfer (CET) at TU Dortmund University and of TU concept GmbH. “In addition to the prize, the CET supports young researchers on their journey – with the aim of helping them bring their ideas into practical application.”
A jury of business experts assessed the submitted ideas according to various criteria such as the practical relevance of the research, innovation content, economic or societal potential, and feasibility. Members of the jury were: Dr. Dagmar Dirzus (KROHNE Messtechnik GmbH), Dr. Heinrich Dornbusch (PROvendis GmbH), Wulf-Christan Ehrich (Dortmund Chamber of Commerce and Industry), Philippa Köhnk (BRYCK), Dr. Rainer Schick (Lachmann & Rink GmbH), and Johannes Velling (Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action and Energy of North Rhine-Westphalia). The event contributes to the Ruhr Innovation Lab, in which TU Dortmund University and Ruhr-University Bochum have joined forces as part of the Excellence Strategy. They cooperate closely on topics that help developing a future-proof and resilient society – and this finds concrete application at the Forum Junge Spitzenforschung.
1st place: Wireless networks for industry
In industry, processes are becoming ever more digital. Autonomous transport vehicles, mobile robotics, and flexible production systems rely on stable and high-performance wireless connections. The planning and operation of industrial campus networks is technically demanding, especially in complex production environments, and often not economically efficient. With PANGOLIN Networks, Stefan Böcker, Christian Arendt, Melina Geis, and Simon Häger presented a concept for an integrated network support solution for industrial wireless networks that is simultaneously high-performing, highly available, sustainable, and resource-efficient. For this they were awarded first place and received a prize of 12,000 euros. “We are very pleased about the award,” said Stefan Böcker. “It is great that, in this setting, we receive feedback from industry on our research and that the topic is relevant beyond science for industry as well.” Melina Geis adds: “We now want to push our idea forward and examine whether our research findings can be turned into a spin-off.”
2nd place: Autonomous radio for inland navigation
Second place went to Alexander Puzicha from the Department of Computer Science at TU Dortmund University, who won 10,000 euros: As a sailor, Alexander Puzicha has often experienced firsthand that radio messages are noisy or that harbors are not sufficiently staffed. He therefore developed an AI-supported autonomous radio for inland navigation that combines software-defined radio, automatic speech recognition, and semantic AI analysis in order not only to receive radio messages but also to transfer them into digital processes.
In this way, for example, berth requests or warning messages can be processed automatically and integrated into harbor management systems. The system is designed as a stationary, legally compliant main radio station and can also be used mobile via a smartphone app. This enables 24/7 availability without tying up personnel. Alexander Puzicha presented the prototype of his radio at the Forum Junge Spitzenforschung. “For me, it is particularly important to have a direct connection to practice in my research. I am very pleased that the jury recognized this,” he explained. “The prize money will go into the next version of my prototype.”
3rd place: Innovative process monitoring
With third place and 8,000 euros in prize money, the jury honored Felix Finkeldey from the Department of Computer Science at TU Dortmund University. His idea addresses the problem that, in machining production, regenerative vibrations limit productivity and quality. Conditions such as tool or machine wear are in many companies still predominantly assessed with the help of experiential knowledge, which is increasingly being lost due to skilled-labor shortages and staff turnover.
At the same time, established technical approaches to process monitoring are often cost-intensive, difficult to retrofit, or involve considerable integration effort. Felix Finkeldey has now developed a low-cost, non-process-invasive system based on airborne sound signals.
Further innovative, AI-supported ideas
The three other teams that had made it to the final each received 4,000 euros for their ideas. Ali Kilicsoy, Nataly Manque, Mauricio Misraji, and Cristobal Acevedo (Department of Mechanical Engineering, TU Dortmund University) presented their probabilistic, machine-learning-based damage detection for identifying structural deterioration in industrial load-bearing structures that are exposed to vibrations. Julian Rolf, Mario Wolf, and Detlef Gerhard (Chair of Digital Engineering, Ruhr University Bochum) showed, with the project AEGIS-ML, an automated, development-process-accompanying generation of synthetic machine-learning training data for products with manual assembly and order-picking processes. René Glitza and Luca Becker (Institute of Communication Acoustics, Ruhr University Bochum) presented their project PRIMSA, which develops privacy-preserving AI algorithms for acoustic anomaly detection, condition monitoring, and emotion recognition in vehicles and industrial facilities, enabling for the first time data-protection-compliant access to real field data and cross-company collaborative learning.
From the idea to the prototype
At the end of last year, the CET organized a prototype competition at TU Dortmund University for the first time. At this competition, ten research concepts were awarded, each receiving 5,000 euros for the construction of a prototype. In addition to Alexander Puzicha, three further researchers presented their prototypes at the Forum Junge Spitzenforschung: Johannes Otto (Chair of Materials Test Engineering) showed his instrumented test cell for corrosion fatigue at elevated temperatures, Kirsten Hollmann-Schröter (Chair of Building Construction) a sustainable residential construction design aimed at achieving high user acceptance, and Vasilii Belykh (Chair of Experimental Physics 2) his compact ODMR spectrometer for quantum information technology. “The prototype is an important step for researchers in the further development of their theoretical idea, because it creates a first tangible model that can be tested and improved,” Ronald Kriedel explains. “By integrating the exhibition into the ‘Forum Junge Spitzenforschung’, we are fostering networking among researchers.”
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