Expert Forums  @ 

Moderated by: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Robert Schulz, Director, Institute of Mechanical Handling and Logistics (IFT), University of Stuttgart

Volatile markets, rising costs, and shorter production cycles are putting production systems under increased pressure. Building robust processes is absolutely essential to keep costs under control. Simulation can be deployed to streamline and optimize processes, from planning to virtual launches to live operations of production and logistics systems. Is the investment worth it? How can simulation be used effectively in every phase to yield more robust processes? What other benefits are gained when AI is used to optimize processes through simulation?

Moderated by: Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Thorsten Schmidt, Association of German Engineers (VDI), Society for Production and Logistics (GPL), Professor of Technical Logistics at TU Dresden, President of WGTL e.V.

These are challenging times for e-commerce. Record highs during the pandemic have given way to widespread volatility, slumping sales, and labor shortages—steering the successful industry into turbulent waters. This panel brings together experts to talk about the challenges they face—but also the current solutions they see. Artificial intelligence helps boost the accuracy of predictions. Automatic packaging lines can minimize the need for personnel. Come hear those on the front lines report on their own experiences!
The panel will also offer insights into the ongoing work to establish e-commerce.

Moderated by:  Dr. Dipl.-Psych. Veronika Kretschmer, Senior Scientist, Assistance Systems and Human-Technology Interaction, Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML

The workplace of the future is the Social Networked Industry, where human beings and new technologies have safe, trusting, collaborative partnerships. This forum presents solutions to counteract the shortage of skilled workers and the effects of demographic change: Exoskeletons have the potential to reduce the physical toll on warehouse workers tasked with handling inventory, “pick-by” systems provide cognitive support to pickers, and AI can crunch the data on every warehouse movement to optimize intralogistics processes.

Moderated by: Dr.-Ing. Günter Ullrich, Managing Partner, Forum-FTS GmbH; Head of VDI Technical Committee for AGVs

In the future, mobile robots will perform a wide range of tasks in every imaginable scenario. They’ll no longer be restricted to factory floors and warehouses of manufacturing businesses, they’ll also move into the publicly accessible areas. There they’ll not only deal with trained personnel, they’ll also need to navigate around people who are not prepared or trained to interact with robots. This presents unique safety challenges for their underlying design and sensor technology.

The panel of experts will address these challenges, break down what future scenarios might look like, and outline the requirements. The panel will then discuss possible strategies and technical solutions for these scenarios.

Moderated by: Matthias Pieringer, editor in chief, LOGISTIK HEUTE, HUSS-VERLAG GmbH

Intralogistics products and services are critical in the effort to achieve efficient processes in the manufacturing, commercial, and service industries. The LogiMAT Summit brings together leading minds from the business and scientific communities to discuss the trends and developments that define intralogistics today. The forum will also address the challenges and opportunities that this yields for intralogistics.