As an expert body for research and innovation projects, the ZVEI Automation Research Community (FG Automation) brings together the leading German manufacturers and renowned research institutes from the fields of automation technology and Industrie 4.0.

The fifth Leadership Circle Industrie 4.0 Conference took place in 2020, like so many other events, in a virtual format. This year, the speakers impressively demonstrated how to make the leap from PowerPoint to the factory floor.

Drives are the core component in industrial production. In combination with sensors and software, they enable the digitalization of the production process and thus the transparency of technical processes.

VDMA and ZVEI have founded the "Industrial Digital Twin Association" (IDTA) as a user organization for Industrie 4.0 together with Bitkom and 20 companies from the mechanical and electrical engineering industries. The aim of the association is to bring together parallel development strands, to transfer the core technology from the concept phase to the practical phase for clear demonstration of its benefits, and to internationalize it.

The transition to a data and platform economy represents both a great opportunity for growth and innovation and a considerable challenge for many companies. The Opportunity Compass for the Data Economy can show companies possible solutions and provide assistance.