New Research Project on the Digitalization of Existing Machinery in Retrofit Facilities
Research Project GreenRetroTwin
Many production systems have been in operation for years or even decades, yet their engineering data is often unstructured, heterogeneous, or no longer available at all. This makes it difficult to integrate existing machinery into modern digital production environments or to efficiently reuse it in retrofit projects.
This is precisely where the new GreenRetroTwin research project comes in.
The project investigates how generative AI can be used to automatically analyze and structure existing, often unstructured design and plant data and generate digital models from it. These models will then serve as the basis for simulation-capable digital twins.
The goal of GreenRetroTwin is to develop solutions that enable the integration of existing production facilities without digital representations into new digital production environments. This will empower companies to efficiently reuse existing machinery, conserve resources, and simultaneously reduce costs. In doing so, the project makes an important contribution to more sustainable and future-proof production.
Last week, the project partners met for a kick-off meeting to officially launch the collaboration and plan the next steps for the joint research project.
In addition to ISG Industrielle Steuerungstechnik GmbH, the consortium includes the IPI – Institut für Produktion und Informatik (TTZ Sonthofen), Grob-Werke GmbH & Co. KG, and the Institut für Steuerungstechnik der Werkzeugmaschinen und Fertigungseinrichtungen (ISW) of the University of Stuttgart.
The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space.