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8 Media
Bosch combines Industry 4.0 with AI

03.03.2021

Factsheet

Industry 4.0

Bosch combines Industry 4.0 with AI

Stuttgart, Germany – Bosch is developing the factory of the future. In this endeavor, the company sees Industry 4.0 as the way forward. Once Bosch has tested and validated products in-house, it markets them to other companies. Its portfolio ranges from software packages for manufacturing and logistics, to robots that make and deliver parts, to workplace assistance systems. The company expects that the use of artificial intelligence will take its endeavors to the next level. It can help reduce reject rates in factories, for example, and improve the utilization of machines and systems.AI in action: Examples from Bosch manufacturing operations Industry 4.0 combined with artificial intelligence helps in finding solutions for complex tasks. Connected manufacturing provides data and AI evaluates it. One use case for artificial intelligence is in production scheduling in highly automated wafer fabs such as the Bosch plant in Reutlingen, Germany, where it saves time and costs as it guides the wafers through up to 1,000 processing steps. This means a five percent faster wafer throughput, with an investment payback time of just three months. Bosch also uses artificial intelligence in its quality control. At its Immenstadt location, the screen at the test bench for ABS systems lights up red to show the assembly workers if the component being tested is defective. This information is provided by a self-learning system that uses the data it has collected to recognize error patterns and, in this way, to distinguish relevant error messages from non-relevant ones. Weekly retraining of the algorithms constantly improves the high success rate. Quality improvement is also the focus at the Bosch Rexroth plant in Homburg, where machine tools process hydraulic valve housings for mobile applications such as tractors. Machine learning methods are applied to make near real-time statements about the quality of workpieces on the basis of the data collected by machine tools. If necessary, the production processes are immediately adjusted, thus reducing the number of reject parts. Having reached development maturity, the AI application eliminates the need for labor-intensive downstream lab tests. Bosch develops AI solutions for its own plants and for customers Bosch’s special-purpose machinery unit has designed Machine Vision AI, an application platform for machine-based visual inspection of workpieces. It helps detect hard-to-identify features such as scratches and chipping on surfaces and defects in weld seams. The salient features of this solution are its ease of use and high reproducibility. A gradual rollout of the technology is currently underway in Bosch plants. The Bosch Rexroth APAS inspector , a production assistant for automatic visual inspection, is already established in factories and available on the market. Its learning image processing software means the system can be “retrained” at any time without requiring extensive programming knowledge on the part of the operators. AI also helps make manufacturing more resource friendly. More than 100 Bosch plants and locations utilize the Energy Platform from the company’s Industry 4.0 portfolio. Also available to external customers, the platform uses intelligent algorithms to quickly detect machines’ energy consumption and cushion any peak loads. This further reduces carbon dioxide emissions in factories; for example, Bosch’s lead plant for Industry 4.0 in Homburg, Germany, cut its emissions by some ten percent within two years. Bosch is now adding what it calls a Balancing Energy Network to its Energy Platform. This software solution uses AI to control and optimize energy flows in manufacturing operations. In addition to boosting energy efficiency, it allows power from renewable energy sources to be put to the best use, enabling flexible operating schedules to be drawn up. Originally developed for manufacturing facilities, the software has the potential to help all types of larger building complexes reduce their environmental footprint, including hospitals, shopping malls, and sports arenas. Bosch is a pioneer and leader in Industry 4.0 Bosch has been adding connectivity to manufacturing and logistics since 2012, with almost all its plants now using Industry 4.0 solutions. Projects in this area deliver measurable benefit. Industry 4.0 solutions make it possible to increase productivity at individual locations by up to 25 percent. One example is the Nexeed software developed by Bosch Connected Industry, which enables real-time management, monitoring, and control of production activities. Validated and used in Bosch factories, Nexeed has already won over more than 100 customers from a wide range of sectors, including BMW and the sensor manufacturer Sick. While Bosch Connected Industry focuses on Industry 4.0 software for production, the Bosch.IO unit offers cloud-based IoT solutions aimed primarily at logistics and AI-based energy management. Bosch Rexroth develops smart hardware, intelligent robotics solutions such as APAS or ActiveShuttle, and pioneering automation technology for the factory of the future. It has now launched an open, 5G-capable automation control platform: ctrlX Automation. Bosch Manufacturing Solutions rounds off the Industry 4.0 portfolio. The special-purpose machinery unit provides customized systems for production, from assembly to process and testing technology.

Industry 4.0
The Bosch plant in Feuerbach – where tradition meets high-tech

05.10.2020

Factsheet

Business/economy

The Bosch plant in Feuerbach – where tradition meets high-tech

Feuerbach, in Germany, is home to Bosch’s biggest, as well as oldest, location worldwide. It was established by Robert Bosch himself in 1909, and is home to a Bosch plant that has been in existence for more than a century. In other words, it has a rich history. At the same time, it also has a very bright future – not least because the plant has kept pace with progress and is now profiting from the benefits of Industry 4.0 in the areas of manufacturing, maintenance, transport, and monitoring. For example, with a network of over 550 items of connected machinery throughout the plant, the condition of individual production systems can be monitored via a graphic display showing their current operating status. Equipped with this knowledge, plant engineers can intervene at a first sign of a problem, thereby reducing machinery downtime and increasing output. At the same time, the plant also benefits in the field of logistics, where seamless connectivity has substantially enhanced processes and brought greater transparency. For example, a smart supermarket system with put-to-light technology automates the management of inventory and simplifies sorting in a materials store that is located close to the production line. All parts removed are recorded by the inventory management system, and replacement orders automatically dispatched. The resulting transportation is undertaken by digitalized milk runs or fully autonomous ActiveShuttles. Alongside the extensive deployment of software-based solutions, the Feuerbach plant is also driving forward the development of human-machine interaction. This includes the use of APAS, an automatic production assistant that works hand in hand with human operatives without the need for a protective fence. In other words, Industry 4.0 is changing the face of manufacturing and, with it, the nature of manufacturing jobs. Feuerbach has been quick to respond to this trend. In spring 2018, skilled workers from the plant commenced training for the new, nationwide qualification for Industry 4.0 specialists established by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK). In addition, in its role at Industry 4.0 lead plant, Feuerbach is doing pioneering work on 5G for the entire Bosch manufacturing network with its approximately 250 plants. For this purpose, Bosch has applied for and received a 5G license to build a private campus network. The set up of the network is planned in 2020. General information Plant name Feuerbach Plant Established 1909 Surface area approx. 109,100 m² Workforce approx. 3,000 Products High-pressure pumps and components for exhaust-gas treatment Core competencies Lead plant functions, digitalization/Industry 4.0, carbon coating, contact measurement, Bainitic hardening Division Powertrain Solutions Facts and figures: Industry 4.0 in Feuerbach Over 550 items of connected machinery 10 percent reduction in cycle times Over 50 percent reduction in administrative overheads for production management due to introduction of the Active Cockpit interactive communication platform Over 50 percent reduction in energy requirements (as per January 2019 compared to 2007), also as a result of smart connectivity for diverse data sources

Business/economy
How Bosch factories are driving climate action

09.07.2020

Factsheet

Business/economy

How Bosch factories are driving climate action

Stuttgart, Germany – Green, smart, successful. The future of manufacturing lies in combination: in making obvious connections and harmonizing ecological and economic concerns. This presents companies with immense challenges. With the manufacturing industry accounting for around one-fifth of CO 2 emissions in Germany, for example, attention is turning above all to production processes and the indirect emissions resulting from the external procurement of electricity and heat. In 2019, Bosch emitted around 1.94 million metric tons of CO 2 worldwide (Scope 1+2) – around 90 percent of which arose in production. Examples from Bosch plants in Germany, France, India, Mexico, and Sweden show what measures the company is taking to achieve climate-neutral manufacturing.Salzgitter and Wernau, Germany – hydrogen as an important building block for the move to alternative energy In Salzgitter, Bosch is working with the Fraunhofer Institute and other local companies to establish a center for hydrogen, known as the Hydrogen Campus, which is funded by the city and the state of Lower Saxony. A pilot project is investigating the potential of hydrogen to reduce factories’ carbon footprint. Hydrogen is regarded as an important building block for the move to alternative energy. Using green electricity, an electrolyzer produces hydrogen and oxygen from water. Hydrogen can replace fuels such as oil or natural gas in the steel and chemicals industries. Used in fuel cells, it can power trains or cars. The Bosch plant in Salzgitter is being used to trial the use of hydrogen an an energy source for factories. The project partners will start building the Hydrogen Campus this year; the ramp-up phase will begin in 2021 with the aim of building a 50 MW electrolysis plant. This will produce around 7,500 metric tons of hydrogen a day, thereby saving up to 41,000 metric tons of CO 2 emissions. At the Bosch training center in Wernau, a pilot SOFC plant is being taken into operation. SOFC stands for solid-oxide fuel cell. The plant is made up of three fuel-cell systems for stationary applications. These will offer a low-carbon supplement to the Wernau plant’s existing power supply, as well as help accelerate the development of such distributed energy systems. When compared with the German electricity mix, an SOFC fuel-cell system saves as much as 40 percent of CO 2 emissions, even when running on natural gas. If the fuel-cell runs on hydrogen or green gas, no further direct emissions of CO 2 are caused. An SOFC unit with an output of 10 kilowatts can cover the annual electricity needs of more than 20 four-person households. In the case of the Wernau plant, this means that the three fuel-cell systems can almost completely cover the energy needs of one of the plant buildings.Homburg, Germany – crunching data to conserve energy and increase efficiency The Bosch plant in Homburg is edging ever closer to the vision of an energy-efficient, self-learning plant. In the past two years, this location has cut its carbon dioxide emissions by around 4,500 metric tons, and by more than 25,000 metric tons since 2007, by employing digitally connected sensors, self-programmed algorithms, and efficiency conversions on machinery. To achieve this, it followed a “maximum transparency meets technological innovation” approach. The energy management platform developed by Bosch uses data that has been collected from the machinery at some 12,000 measuring points. Associates can track, control, and optimize each individual machine’s power consumption. Technical solutions include ventilation of manufacturing shops on an as-required basis, waste heat recovery from various machining processes, and smart consumption management for machinery. In addition, the location is championing the efficiency technology of the future: last year, the prototype of a stationary fuel cell developed by Bosch was put into operation in Homburg. The fuel cell is integrated into the location’s energy supply network and covers peak electricity demand.Reutlingen, Germany – putting waste heat to intelligent use As the Reutlingen plant conducts its manufacturing operations in fully air-conditioned clean rooms, it requires year-round heating. Until now, this demand has been covered by boilers, with the heat in the summer months remaining largely unused. Now, there is a solution: heat exchangers have been added to the heating network at specific points to systematically lower the temperature curve of the heating circuit and thus allow the available waste heat to be used for heating throughout the entire location. In addition, this saves the energy that was previously used to dissipate excess heat. The boilers now run on an as-required basis and can be switched off for practically the entire summer. This reduces the time that heating systems are in operation from 7,500 hours to 4,000 hours per year. It also reduces annual energy consumption by 3,000 megawatt hours and carbon emissions by 700 metric tons.Feuerbach, Germany – people and machines work together to deliver energy efficiency The Bosch plant in Feuerbach has been in existence for more than a century and lies at the heart of the oldest and biggest Robert Bosch GmbH location. Established in 1909, the Feuerbach plant has steadily and systematically modernized its facilities and consistently improved its energy efficiency. With training sessions in its “Energieerlebniswelt” (energy experience world), a local team focuses on energy monitoring and increasing awareness among the workforce. The plant has pursued heat-recovery, room-automation, machine power shut-off management, and shop-renovation projects with great success. Its energy requirements are down more than 50 percent compared with 2007; its carbon emissions are down 47 percent.Nashik, India – reducing carbon footprint with power generated on site In India, Bosch is pursuing carbon neutrality by tapping natural sources of energy. Spurred on by the idea of supplying the location with fully renewable power during daytime hours, the team at the Nashik location began installing its first photovoltaic systems in 2015. It now has 50,000 solar panels in place on roofs, parking lots, and the grounds to generate around 20 percent of the power required by the plant each year. The facility has reduced its carbon emissions by some 25,000 metric tons and saved over 33,000 megawatt hours since 2015. This is equivalent to the power consumed by some 24,500 Indian households. Bosch experts have also developed an eco-friendly solution for cleaning the modules: the water is recycled several times.Rodez, France – sustainable heating system Reduce the site’s carbon footprint – that was what the team in Rodez in France set out to do when it started making plans in 2009. The location now has a biomass heating plant, up and running since 2013. It burns wood chips obtained from local forestry resources. Rodez uses its power to heat water and generate process heat. On average, the wood chip-fired plant covers 90 percent of the location’s heating requirements. It consumes some 6,600 metric tons of wood chips a year. Burning this biomass releases no more carbon than the trees had taken from the atmosphere. The factory has reduced its yearly emissions by around 600 metric tons.Bosch in Mexico – renewables cover four-fifths of demand Mexico has revamped its energy policy. A government energy reform program aims to source 35 percent of the country’s electricity from non-fossil fuels by 2024. With many hours of sunshine annually and high-wind regions, Mexico’s geography and climate are certainly conducive to that goal, providing a solid foundation for change alongside committed support from government and business. Bosch is part of this movement, and has already set a high standard: Power sourced exclusively from the Dominica wind farm in the state of San Luis Potosí covers up to 80 percent of the energy requirements of several Bosch locations in Mexico. Between 2015 and 2019, Bosch Mexico reduced its carbon emissions by 250,000 metric tons.Mellansel, Sweden – energy-efficient painting technology One of the most flexible and eco-friendly paint shops in European mechanical engineering is located in Mellansel, Sweden: the Bosch Rexroth plant there paints equipment such as heavy-duty hydraulic motors for recycling plants and raw materials handling equipment. It is also where engines that will subsequently come into contact with salt water are coated with several layers of corrosion-proofing. In this process, the temperature and the ratio of water to color pigments are closely monitored so that excess heat can be recovered. As a result, energy consumption is 75 percent lower than before.

Business/economy
Reutlingen wafer fab

04.10.2019

Factsheet

Connected mobility

Reutlingen wafer fab

Reutlingen wafer fab Production facilities 150-millimeter technology since 1995 200-millimeter technology since 2010 Test center for semiconductors Semiconductors have been manufactured at the wafer fab in Reutlingen since 1971. Clean room surface area 23,400 m2 Associates 3,500 Manufacturing technology Partly automated semiconductor production (150-and 200-mm silicon substrates (wafers) with structural widths of up to 180 nm; 1 nm is a millionth of a millimeter) Manufactured products Application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), microelectromechanical systems(MEMS), power semiconductors Fields of application for semiconductors Automotive electronics: ESP electronic stability program, electronic control units for IC engines and electric motors as well as for transmissions, airbag and driver assistance systems, parking assistants, and night vision enhancement systems Consumer electronics: smartphones, laptops, wearables, hearables, games consoles, drones

Connected mobility
Semiconductor production at Bosch

04.10.2019

Factsheet

Connected mobility

Semiconductor production at Bosch

Semiconductor production at Bosch Current portfolio Electronic components for vehicles and for consumer electronics. These include microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) such as acceleration, yaw-rate, pressure, mass-flow, environmental, and magnetic field sensors, as well as microprojectors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and power semiconductors. Manufacturing sites Reutlingen (150-mm and 200-mm technology) Dresden (300-mm technology) from 2022 Patents Bosch holds more than 1,500 patents and patent applications in the field of semiconductor technology, 1,000 of which are for MEMS technology. Market Bosch manufactures semiconductors and MEMS sensors for its own use. Large portions of the portfolio are also offered on the open market. History For nearly 50 years, Bosch has been developing and manufacturing microelectronic components and systems; almost 25 years ago, Bosch developed the semiconductor production process for microelectromechanical sensors (MEMS sensors), and is world market leader in this field.

Connected mobility
300 mm wafer fab in Dresden

30.09.2019

Factsheet

Connected mobility

300 mm wafer fab in Dresden

General information Total investment approx. 1 billion euros Site approx. 100,000 m2 (about 14 soccer fields) Total floor space approx. 72,000 m² of production area and office space Construction timeline Groundbreaking in spring 2018, installation of machinery mid-/end 2019, pilot production to start at end of 2021 Associates in the completed plant Up to 700 Qualified professionals needed Experts from the semiconductor industry, such as process, production, and maintenance engineers, mathematicians, software engineers, as well as professionals with degrees in physics, chemistry, and microsystems technologies Manufacturing technology Highly automated wafer production (300 mm silicon substrate wafers with structures up to 65 nm in width – 1 nm equals one millionth of a millimeter) Connected manufacturing Every second, the machines will transmit one gigabit of production data. The volume of data produced is equivalent to more than 42 million written sheets of paper, weighing 22 metric tons.Details on the building Total building volume 600,000 m³ Concrete approx. 66,500 m³ (about 8,300 concrete mixer trucks) Steel approx. 16,400 metric tons (about 30 A380 passenger jets) Earth moved/excavated approx. 90,000 m³ (some 7,500 truckloads) Bored piles for the foundation approx. 860 Floor slabs 100 cm thick Length of piping and ductwork approx. 80 km Length of electrical cabling approx. 380 km (from Dresden to Berlin and back)Internet For job seekers www.bosch-career.de/jobs Site for the Dresden location https://www.bosch.de/en/our-company/bosch-in-germany/dresden/ Bosch semiconductors http://www.bosch-semiconductors.com/

Connected mobility

28.06.2018

Factsheet

Business/economy

Robert Bosch Venture Capital GmbH (RBVC)

Headquarters Robert-Bosch-Platz 1 70839 Gerlingen, Germany Locations Stuttgart office (DE) Frankfurt am Main office (DE) Tel Aviv office (IL) Sunnyvale affiliate office (USA) Shanghai affiliate office (CN) Associates Approximately 30 worldwide Management Dr. Ingo Ramesohl, managing director Philipp Rose, managing director Company RBVC is the venture capital wing of the Bosch Group. As a tech investor, RBVC scours the globe for innovative start-up companies that are potential game-changers for entire industries. These companies can be at any stage of development. Its investment activities focus on technology companies working in areas that are relevant to Bosch, both now and in the future. RBVC also invests in selected independent venture capital funds that focus on a particular region or sector. Fund volume Current third fund: 150 million euros; former funds: 120 and 150 million euros (total investment per company in portfolio is generally between 5 and 15 million euros, in return for a holding of between 10 and 25 percent of equity). Holdings RBVC currently holds equity in over 35 companies worldwide. Network RBVC also works with other venture capital funds, start-ups, and companies, as well as a network of universities and start-up accelerators, in order to identify new investment opportunities.Investment strategy Investment focus Automation and electrification Mobility solutions Healthcare Energy efficiency Artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning Internet of things (IoT) Analytics Disruptive computer architectures (hardware and software) Augmented and virtual reality (AR and VR) Blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies Active investor RBVC acts as an institutional venture capital company in the international venture capital and investment market. RBVC uses its network within Bosch and beyond in order to help start-ups establish and scale new business models, and to help them ramp up industrial production.Procedure Investments Initial finance (series A/B): 3–5 million euros Further finance up to a total investment of 15 million euros Selective injection of seed capital up to 0.5 million euros Selective investment in other venture capital funds in order to build up international and industrial networks Investment types Equity investments in any currency Investments in China in local currency (renminbi) Bridge financing and SAFE notes Token/cryptocurrency investmentsExtract from the portfolio of companies AImotive (HU) developing a new type of computer-vision system for autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles. This technology is based primarily on the analysis of camera images – but also radar and lidar signals – by means of AI processes. In addition to software, the company also supplies embedded hardware solutions and a simulation and verification package. Graphcore (UK) developing a new type of processor known as the IPU (intelligent processing unit). Equipped with a completely new processor architecture, IPUs are specifically designed for the workloads of machine learning and artificial intelligence. IPUs can significantly accelerate AI applications in the cloud or data center. IOTA (DE) developed the cryptocurrency IOTA on the basis of the Tangle protocol, which is related to blockchain technology. Its main area of use is for settling small due amounts in an M2M (machine-to-machine) environment – for, example, payments at a charge spot for electric vehicles. Poka (CAN) developed one of the most advanced neuromorphic vision systems for machines, robots, and driverless cars. This solution is based on neural networks and uses extremely fast image sensors. Prophesee (FR) developed one of the most advanced neuromorphic vision systems for machines, robots, and driverless cars. This solution is based on neural networks and uses extremely fast image sensors. Sensoro (CN) produces beacons and wireless sensors for industrial applications. Its wireless sensor networks are used to provide environment data for IoT applications. They are both simple to operate and easy to monitor. Sensoro has already networked large cities and whole regions in China.

Business/economy

25.06.2018

Factsheet

Business/economy

Laying the foundation stone for 300 mm wafer fab in Dresden

General information Total investment approx. 1 billion euros Site approx. 100,000 m2 (about 14 soccer fields) Total floor space approx. 72,000 m² of production area and office space Construction timeline Groundbreaking in spring 2018 installation of machinery mid-/end 2019 pilot production to start at end of 2021 Associates in the completed plant Up to 700 Qualified professionals needed Experts from the semiconductor industry, such as process, production, and maintenance engineers, mathematicians, software engineers, as well as professionals with degrees in physics, chemistry, and microsystems technologies Manufacturing technologye Highly automated wafer production (300 mm silicon substrate wafers with structures up to 65 nm in width – 1 nm equals one millionth of a millimeter) Connected manufacturing Every second, the machines will transmit one gigabit of production data. The volume of data produced is equivalent to more than 42 million written sheets of paper, weighing 22 metric tons.Details on the building Total building volume 600 000 m³ Concrete approx. 66,500 m³ (about 8,300 concrete mixer trucks) Steel approx. 16,400 metric tons (about 30 A380 passenger jets) Earth moved/excavated approx. 90,000 m³ (some 7,500 truckloads) Bored piles for the foundation approx. 860 Floor slabs 100 cm thick Length of piping and ductwork approx. 80 km Length of electrical cabling approx. 380 km (from Dresden to Berlin and back)Internet For job seekers www.bosch-career.de/jobs Site for the Dresden location https://www.bosch.de/en/ourcompany/bosch-in-germany/dresden Bosch semiconductors www.bosch-semiconductors.com

Business/economy