AI5production

Activity Leader

Claudia Schickling

Head of TU Wien Pilotfabrik Industrie 4.0

About the project

The European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH), AI5production, which consists of 16 partner institutions in Vienna and Upper Austria, offers manufacturing companies comprehensive support with digitalisation.  

The hub is funded by the European Commission and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Labour and Economic Affairs. Companies with up to 2,999 employees can take advantage of the hub’s services free of charge. 

Challenges

EDIHs act as central contact points for companies and the public sector to master digital challenges and become more competitive.  

In the targeted region, there is a big demand for support to digitalise in manufacturing and artificial intelligence (AI) for manufacturing. Many studies show clearly that for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) the biggest problems are the lack of know-how, difficulties in defining concrete objectives, and a missing implementation agenda.  

The scope and the application areas of the AI5production hub are defined based on the results of different assessments, relevant surveys and above-mentioned studies: i.e. 2017, 2018 and 2019 assessments on the digital transformation of Austrian SMEs; 2020 Digital Competences in Austrian SMEs (Inst. for Advanced Studies Vienna); 2018 European Manufacturing Survey – Production Austria; 2021 survey by the Federation of the Austrian Industries specifically done for the EDIH. The top need is professional support in terms of access to test facilities and to know-how for the concrete implementation of digitalisation. 

“The vision was to create a hub that would contribute significantly to the digital transformation of Austrian manufacturing companies with the expertise of its 17 institutions. Now, after just over two years, we can proudly say that the vision has become a reality and the hub has achieved its goals.”

Dipl.-Ing. Franz Suemecz

Project Manager

TU Wien Pilotfabrik Industrie 4.0

Solutions

The EDIHs support digital transformation. They offer low-threshold access to research and testing infrastructure and, in particular, to expertise. Companies can work on individual research and development issues with the support of scientists.  

Research infrastructure is available for test series, measurements and tests as well as for the design of new products and processes. In addition, a comprehensive training programme is offered with courses, webinars and workshops on a wide range of topics relating to digitalisation in production and Industry 5.0. 

Expected results

The results expected from the project include:  

• Consolidate the I4.0 maturity of SMEs and mid-caps and support transfer to I5.0 companies. 

• Establishment and further development of high-quality services. 

• Delivery of need-based, state of the art and tailored high-quality trainings. 

• Successfully connect SMEs and startups with investors and/or funding bodies. 

• Building up a strong, viable and interconnected network of SMEs, mid-caps, research institutions and intermediaries. 

• Transparent, active and informative communication between the Hub and outside world. 

Main results

So far, the project has produced the following results:

4 080 participants at events

131 executed Test-before-Invest projects

1151 learners in training programmes

Further results will emerge over time, as the project is still in its delivery phase.

Societal impact

The project drives societal progress by fostering digital innovation, boosting the economy, and supporting sustainable industrial transformation.

The hub supports companies to digitalise, which reduces production costs, increases sales, creates a competitive advantage and enables them to compete in a globalised market. The strong demand for the hub’s services, in particular the so-called test-before-invest projects, clearly illustrates the existence of a need for such mechanisms within the European industry. It is also an indicator of the major impact that the hub is having as part of Europe’s digital transformation.

Participants