The dynamic forum sessions reflect the main theme of Systems & Components, “Connectivity – Stay with us, stay connected!”. From Monday to Friday, there will be four daily 45-minute forum sessions with two in the morning and two in the afternoon. These open dialogues with companies, associations and academia through an innovative, cross-industry approach follow a specific theme selected for each day.
Monday – Smart Maintenance
Prevent. This simple word summarizes an entire concept - intelligent maintenance is an important step when speaking of connectivity and Industry 4.0. This new industry is heavily influencing business models and processes. With the introduction of cyber systems, the level of new concepts, methods, procedures and technologies is constantly increasing. Productive processes can be performed seamlessly with issues and problems being predicted and resolved before creating production losses for the end user. The quantity of available data available to businesses is expected to double every 1.2 years in the 21st century. Innovative methods to handle big data to create information are needed. Ag machinery and related sectors are ready to take this leap for the ultimate connection to the future.
Tuesday – Electrification
Today's agricultural mechanization is at a very high technological level in terms of automation and simplification of the production processes. What is needed today is an increase in both terms of efficiency as well as the capacity to interact with various machines through a “common language”. Electrification provides less friction, better control of systems and a simpler layout requiring less space. The future is electrification - there is still a ways to go, but the goals are clear.
Wednesday - Human Machine Interfaces (HMI)
The Systems & Components technical program follows the line of interaction between humans and humans, humans and machines to ultimately arrive at the interaction between machines and machines. The past has seen the use of monitors and control systems to aid the user in making decisions through visual and acoustic messages. Today's reality is different - “Human Computer Interaction” - where the new challenge is “how to communicate intentions”. To succeed, communication channels need to be more expressive, more refined, to let relevant messages stand out and allow more subtle clues to filter through. Connectivity between humans and machines is already here, but the future will bring this connection to a more sophisticated level.
Thursday - Materials
As interfaces evolve, so must the construction of both machines and the components that they are composed of. Materials used in ag machinery and that of related industries are constantly evolving to meet stricter regulations that better protect both the consumer and the environment while providing improved consumption, reliability and lower costs. For example, a group of scientists at the Institute of Technology in Karlsruhe in Germany recreated, using a 3D printer, the nanometric structure of a compound similar to that of human bones with a very light but resistant material. The future of materials is constantly evolving to best connect all pieces to make a whole.
Friday - “Democratic” Technologies in Engineering
“Democratic” Technologies in Engineering take us back to the beginning through a look at the various markets of the world. Today, the market is polarizing with Europe on the technical forefront. However, emerging markets require a larger number of robust and reliable machines that are based on “basic engineering”. There is a great divide between emerging markets and those that are more developed. This gap is constantly growing with technology continuing to provide greater innovations and intermediate solutions slowly disappearing. Looking at the world while examining the roles of both people and machines in various global markets helps put reality into perspective and sheds light on the concept of connectivity as a whole.
All information for visitors and exhibitors is available online at www.agritechnica.com.
