Defining the future at Hannover Messe 2019

Hannover Messe 2019 was formally opened by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in partnership with Stefan Löfven, Prime Minister of Sweden, as the nation being honoured as this year's Partner Country.

The opportunities and possibilities opened up by the use of artificial intelligence in industrial production was a key theme at this year's show. This was heralded by the show's lead theme, "Industrial Intelligence" – the banner under which companies from all around the world showcased more than 100 application examples of machine learning. "Artificial intelligence is the heart of Industry 4.0," commented Dr. Jochen Köckler, chairman of the Managing Board of the show's organizer, Deutsche Messe. "The ability it gives us to analyse vast amounts of data and arrive at informed decisions is what makes customised mass production possible," he added, putting the focus on developments like collaborative human-robot workstations in which robots assist their human counterparts and enable them to concentrate on tasks that require higher cognitive ability.

This year, for the first time, Hannover Messe also featured a large-scale 5G testbed where network equipment providers and users used the testbed to demonstrate the kinds of functionality that the new mobile telephony standard will be able to deliver. Köckler: "The ability to transfer large volumes of data in real time while maintaining high standards of data security is absolutely fundamental to the digital integration of industry. In Hall 16, we and our technology partners from Nokia and Qualcomm built a real, functional 5G network." The network comprised eight showcases, all connected via the 5G standard, with highlights including industrial robots managed and controlled via 5G and a model automotive production plant. Köckler: "The world has never seen such a diverse range of 5G industrial use examples in a real, working 5G network, all under one roof."

Another future-defining technology which Hannover Messefocussed on this year is lightweight construction. Alongside numerous application examples of lightweight technology at the exhibition stands, the show, for the very first time, featured a conference on lightweight construction: the Lightweighting Summit.

In other firsts, the Hannover Messe 2019 program included a Future of Work in Industry conference and an Industrial Pioneers Summit . The Future of Work in Industry conference is part of a drive by Hannover Messe's organisers to facilitate greater discussion on how the digital transformation of industry is affecting the way people work. In the course of keynotes, panel discussions and best-case presentations, big-name speakers – such as Siemens Chief Human Resources Officer and Managing Board member Janina Kugel, VW Central and Group Works Council Chairman Bernd Osterloh and SAP's Christian Boos – outlined ways in which companies can get their workforces ready for the future.

The Industrial Pioneers Summit was devoted to discussion on digitisation, AI, human-machine collaboration and platform business models. The invited participants were forward thinkers and champions of innovation from industry, government, business, science and society generally. They were able to share their expertise, opinions and theories on current developments and future scenarios and jointly formulate a vision for 2025.