From April 1 to 5, 6,500 companies from 75 countries are once again expected to attend the Hannover Messe. Global corporations, medium-sized companies and start-ups will be presenting their components, process and system solutions for the industrial production and energy supply of the future. Companies from the fields of automation, robotics, industrial software, drive and fluid technology, energy technologies, supply and research and development will be represented. This year's partner country is Sweden.

Improving processes with AI
"Artificial intelligence has the potential to revolutionize the industry," says Dr. Jochen Köckler, CEO of Deutsche Messe. "In the future, AI technologies will control networked production facilities and continuously improve the systems. This will raise quality standards. Manufacturing processes will become more flexible and cost-efficient."

Industrial companies are increasingly making use of innovative digital technologies. Machine learning and artificial intelligence play a key role here by linking data from different sources, predicting errors and solving problems. "Based on data, AI makes it possible to continuously improve processes," says Köckler. "This results in enormous benefits for productivity and quality. This is also a great opportunity for Germany as a business location." Because AI creates space for new ideas: These can be existing products that are expanded to include digital services, or even completely new business models.

More than 100 concrete application examples for machine learning have been announced in Hanover. On display will be robots that independently solve tasks in the factory and pass on their knowledge to other machines. Or AI systems that provide detailed instructions for repair work and assist the technician in carrying it out. The system becomes better and better in dialog with humans because it continues to learn with every new question and every piece of feedback.

Strong robot presence
The Hannover Messe is of course also a robotics trade fair. This year, trade visitors will once again encounter robots in every hall as they walk through the exhibition grounds. Whether industrial robots, collaborative robots or driverless transport systems - they are the symbol of automated production.

"We are looking forward to a strong presence of robotics in Hannover," says Hubertus von Monschaw, Global Director Integrated Automation, Motion & Drives in the Hannover Messe team. "There are a few returning exhibitors and numerous stand expansions. The top themes will be cobots and artificial intelligence in robotics: it is highly exciting to see what happens when highly developed robot technology now meets learning systems."

5G for industry
From 2020, the new 5G mobile communications standard in Germany will lay the foundation for the comprehensive digitalization of the economy and society. 5G will be an important milestone for industry in particular, as it will make future technologies such as machine learning in production and autonomous driving ready for use. 5G will therefore be a key topic at Hannover Messe. Köckler: "5G will enable industry to leverage the full potential of Industry 4.0."

The future of work
However, the key theme of Industrial Intelligence means more than just smart technology: namely the digital networking of people and machines in the age of artificial intelligence.

"When we talk about the benefits of artificial intelligence, it doesn't mean that we can do without human intelligence. On the contrary," says Köckler. "A sense of responsibility, creativity and leadership - with these qualities, humans will continue to play the most important role in industry in the future." as