ARENA2036 – co-creating leapfrog innovations beneath one roof

Dr Clemens Ackermann at ARENA2036 discusses the leapfrog innovations taking place in a variety of disciplines and in research

About ARENA2036

Since 2013, applied research on the mobility and production of the future has been conducted in the Active Research Environment for the Next generation of Automobiles, or ARENA2036 for short, right in the middle of the university campus in Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany.

More than 50 organisations from sciences and industry are working hand in hand to bring forth leapfrog innovations in a variety of disciplines, such as aerospace, automotive, material sciences, production technologies, or intralogistics.

At the heart of the industrial and automotive metropolitan region of Stuttgart, the research campus forms an essential link between science and industry through leapfrog innovations. Small and medium-sized enterprises, large corporations, start-ups, universities, and research institutions all benefit from each other in more than 25 active research projects.

Their key topics range from mobility, production, and work of the future to digitalisation. Within these projects, our partners benefit from state-of-the-art technologies such as 5G networks, novel approaches in intralogistics, rapid prototyping, and automated additive manufacturing.

The original focus on further developing the automobile itself has broadened considerably since ARENA2036 was founded. Today, the year 2036 no longer only symbolises the 150th anniversary of the automobile, but above all, the goal to redefine today’s concept of mobility and production by then. Therefore, new technologies, concepts, and ways of production for the future of mobility need to be devised. Alongside the conceptual and theoretical work, the experts at ARENA2036 create environments to build, test, and improve demonstrators of the tools and products, that are needed to fulfil said objectives.

The cornerstones of the Research Campus

Four of the projects, so-called joint projects, form the strategic cornerstones of the research work at the Research Campus:

1. FlexCAR, a standardised vehicle platform that enables the transformation of rigid supply chains into resilient, flexible supplier networks based on its open soft- and hardware interfaces. In addition, superstructures for a wide variety of application purposes can be cyberphysically developed for the open platform. Taken together, the concept conceives an updatable and upgradable car.
2. The Digital Fingerprint, which forms a uniform, consistent database for Industry 4.0 production. It connects many of the projects on site with each other and facilitates collaboration between different projects as their status progresses.
3. Fluid Production enables highly flexible production environments based on the cybeyrphysicality of all components. A variety of scenarios are being tested on site in the research factory. Thus, production machines and processes on autonomously driving robots become independent of their location due to their adaptability on a variety of scenarios.
4. The close collaboration on campus requires new approaches to cooperation. For example, concepts for joint research work on campus are developed at the Agile Innovation Hub and researched in their implementation. The Joint Project can thus be seen as an interface project between many other projects on site.

Short paths to leapfrog innovations

On the way to Industry 4.0, the co-creative and interdisciplinary collaboration at the Research Campus proves that short paths in research and development provide crucial advantages for innovative work environments. Technologies such as Internet of Things in 5G networks are quickly implemented into practical demonstrators and thereby provide valuable testbeds for pre-competitive developments and research. In combination with the close network of partners, companies can quickly transfer their outcomes into the industry.

ARENA2036 sees itself as the provider of a versatile platform to strengthen partnerships between organisations and push forward the development of potentially disruptive technologies. By breaking down silos inside organisations themselves as well as borders between multiple institutions, this blueprint becomes reality and thus paves a completely new way for research and development.

In the coming years, ARENA2036 will continue to be a door opener for start-ups, research, and innovation, bringing a breath of fresh air into the industry and strengthening Germany as a globally renowned technological melting pot. The future trajectory of the Research Campus puts a strong emphasis on sustainability and connectivity within the context of automotive production.

*Please note: This is a commercial profile

© 2019. This work is licensed under CC-BY-NC-ND.