Utilizing AI in manufacturing is fundamentally transforming company operations and business models, thus facilitating competitive, efficient, and smart production. At the forthcoming HANNOVER MESSE, AI will be a prominent theme across all halls and will feature prominently at nearly all booths. Tech firms like AWS, Microsoft, SAP, Schneider Electric, and Siemens, alongside technologically advanced SMEs such as Beckhoff Automation, Emerson/Aventics, Festo, Hiwin, IBG, ifm electronic, Harting, Lapp, Pepperl+Fuchs, Phoenix Contact, Pilz, Rittal, Schaeffler, SEW-EURODRIVE, and Wittenstein will present their cutting-edge innovations and effective solutions
“Automation and digitalization are increasingly converging both in a physical sense and in content.” The trade fair is therefore reflecting a distinct trend: there is a growing integration of software and hardware within the sector – ranging from AI-enhanced robots to data-focused manufacturing improvements and digitalized supply chains,” states Hubertus von Monschaw, Global Director Trade Fair and Product Management HANNOVER MESSE at Deutsche Messe AG. “The new hall design reveals what has been a reality in the factories for a long time.”
The realm of automation includes sensor technology, industrial communication, embedded solutions, electric drive systems, and motion control, among other sectors. These essential domains constitute the foundation of contemporary Industry 4.0 solutions. A recently added subject is production technologies for the defense sector.
New: Defense Production Area
Modern production technologies are also in demand in the security and defense industry. There, reassessing defense capabilities is leading to increased investment and imposing high demands on industrial production, which must be scalable, flexible, and reliable. The Defense Production Area is a new exhibition format at HANNOVER MESSE, aimed at strengthening the European security and defense industry.
The focus is on suppliers and providers of production technologies that present innovative solutions for defense, security, and resilience. In cooperation with DSEI Germany, HANNOVER MESSE is for the first time offering an attractive platform that shows how modern technologies can meet the demanding requirements of security-related production.
Robotics applications for industry
The latest trends in robotics can be experienced at HANNOVER MESSE. The focus will be on AI-based perception systems, autonomous mobile manipulators, and humanoid robots. Their advantage over classic industrial robots lies less in their pure performance and more in their adaptability: they are designed to use tools, workstations, and infrastructures developed by people.
This enables processes to be automated or modifications made to established procedures and products without having to rebuild the entire production environment. In the classic fields of automation such as automotive or electronics production, specialized industrial robots with greater accuracy, speed, payload, and reliability will continue to occupy the high ground for the time being. Many advances on the software side are also to be expected in the field of robotics. In addition to improved digital twins through data-driven methods, aspects such as simulation and virtual commissioning are becoming more prominent as a means for programming or teaching robots more quickly – without interrupting production.
Industrial software: The digital engine of production
HANNOVER MESSE will once again demonstrate that modern industrial software is the backbone of efficient and networked production that is geared up to meet the needs of the future. It combines machines, people, and processes into an intelligent overall system – from product development to production and maintenance.
Whether production planning, plant control, data analysis, or digital twins – modern industrial software is a key driver when it comes to optimizing industrial processes. It helps companies to use resources efficiently, react flexibly to changes, and strengthen their own competitiveness. This opens up new potential for efficiency, sustainability, and innovation in combination with key technologies such as artificial intelligence, edge computing and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Software is increasingly becoming a strategic differentiating factor: only those companies which use their data in real time and control production dynamically will be able to position themselves successfully in fast-moving markets. The exhibiting companies will include SAP, PSI, Inform, soffico, cybus, Aegis, and Microsoft.
Digital resilience for industry
Next year, HANNOVER MESSE will focus even more strongly on IT and OT security. In an increasingly digitalized and networked industry, cybersecurity is the basic prerequisite for competitiveness and innovative strength. Leading providers of security solutions will present their latest technologies and strategies for protecting industrial infrastructures. Whether secure cloud solutions, OT security for production environments, zero-trust architectures or AI-supported threat analysis: visitors will gain practical insights into current trends and challenges.
5G & industrial wireless
Connectivity is an essential building block for the digital and sustainable transformation of industry. With the “5G & Industrial Wireless Arena”, HANNOVER MESSE is organizing Europe’s largest platform for wireless communication in industry. The focus will be on key technologies such as 5G, 6G and NBIoT. The direct proximity to the topics of robotics, IT/OT security, and production technologies for defense, security, and resilience is creating added value and revealing the future of networked communication, from autonomous systems to intelligent networks. The exhibitors will include Siemens HUAWEI, Ericsson, and InterX.