On the afternoon of March 26th, the Fraunhofer Society of German signed a formal contract with Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The two parties will use their respective advantages to set up the Intelligent Manufacturing Project Center of Fraunhofer Association at Lingang to carry out in-depth cooperative research on the frontier technologies of Intelligent Manufacturing and Industry 4.0.The signing of the contract means the formal establishment of the first scientific research institute of the Fraunhofer Association in China. Shi Wenjun, Associate Counsel of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, was present and made a speech.
Mr. Shi pointed out that intelligent manufacturing has become an important way for manufacturing industry to transform and develop to the next level. Shanghai is building a good ecological environment for intelligent manufacturing, a highland for the application of intelligent manufacturing, and the source of core technology and system solutions throughout the country. The Fraunhofer Project Center at Lingang will promote the establishment of public welfare innovation research institutes with domestic and international influence, key technology research and development of intelligent manufacturing industry, transfer and incubation of achievements, multi-level talents from home and abroad, and advanced research environment. The center will also provide support for promoting the development of intelligent manufacturing industry in Shanghai and Lingang areas to high-end, and to contribute to the construction of Shanghai to become a science and technology innovation center with global influence.
It is reported that the German Fraunhofer Association, known as the Fraunhofer-Gesells chaft, was established in 1949 and headquartered in Munich. It devotes itself to the research of industrial-oriented applied technology and provides a strong driving force for innovation for German industry. As a joint research platform of "German Industry 4.0" and China Intelligent Manufacturing Industry, the Center will help Lingang to construct a technology innovation zone with international influence. The center upholds the tenet of "non-profit, industry common technology research and development and service, avoiding monopoly of technology transformation". It carries out public research and development for the most advanced technology of Industry 4.0, and extensively develops Industry 4.0 common technology services for the backbone enterprises and Sino-German joint ventures of automobile, aerospace and shipbuilding.
The center aims to build the world's leading research institute of intelligent manufacturing. After its establishment, it will work in five aspects: First, it will further improve the demonstration line of "Future Intelligent Experience Center" and build the world's most advanced Industry 4.0 and intelligent manufacturing research base. Second, it will focus on the five research directions including intelligent factory planning, Information Physics system, digital twin technology, artificial intelligence assembly and man-machine co-manufacturing. Third, the center will build the "physics cloud platform system for common technology services information" as a R&D and transformation functional platform of Shanghai Intelligent Manufacturing, and to provide intelligent manufacturing technology services for enterprises. Fourth, the center will develop strategic research on Industry 4.0 and intelligent manufacturing, explore the latest development trends and routes, pay attention to the domestic and foreign intelligent manufacturing enterprises, and provide enterprises with integrated solutions and key technology support for life cycle of products. And fifth, the center will carry out international talent education and training in Industry 4.0 and intelligent manufacturing and create a mechanism for personnel exchange and visits between China and Germany, which will form a multi-level high-end talent education and training system covering teachers, students, engineers, and business managers. All these will provide talents, technology and institutional support for the whole construction and development of intelligent manufacturing from policy making ,technology R&D and engineering application.
