A novel type of cooperation between Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Daimler AG is aimed at evaluating new production processes and developing industrialization concepts for innovative technologies in automotive engineering. The industry fellowship “GoTech4DAI – Global Technology Monitoring for Dynamic Automotive Industries” bridges the gap between both disciplines and between science and industry. Industry Fellow Dr. Steven Peters is senior engineer at KIT’s Institute of Production Science (wbk).
“My tasks lie at the interface of vehicle and production technologies and the interface between science and industry,” Dr. Steven Peters explains. At KIT’s Institute of Production Science, Peters works in the research area of “Production Systems” headed by Professor Gisela Lanza. His team consists of 15 engineers. Within the framework of the “GoTech4DAI” industry fellowship, Peters studies methods to evaluate new production technologies that are still “immature”, which means not yet suited for series production in terms of costs, quality, or flexibility.
Together with the Center for Production and Materials Technologies (PWT) and the Research Department (RD) of Daimler AG, he develops industrialization concepts for new technologies in automotive engineering. Future models of Mercedes-Benz with their complex drive technologies serve as an example. Intelligent multi-materials lightweight construction also plays an important role. Work is aimed at using the best suited material for every component.
With “GoTech4DAI”, KIT and Daimler AG further intensify their long-standing close cooperation. The fellowship was initiated and promoted by Professor Gisela Lanza, Head of the Institute of Production Science (wbk) of KIT, and Professor Thomas Weber, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, who is responsible for Group Research at Mercedes-Benz Cars Development. Gisela Lanza, member of the Industry-Science Research Alliance of the federal government and Shared Professor with Daimler AG until 2012, underlines the importance of the so-called shared models to KIT: “I think that close cooperation of research and industry in mechanical engineering in particular can generate a sustainable added value for both sides. This understanding has a long tradition at KIT and in particular at the wbk.”
As one of the shared instruments of KIT, industry fellowships allow for a close connection of research conducted by excellent young scientists to industrial applications and for the rapid knowledge transfer from research to industry and vice versa. Dr. Dieter Seegmüller, Head of the PWT of Daimler AG, considers the cooperation to be “a joint contribution to the superordinate objective of considering the development of production technologies in an earlier stage of the development process of new vehicles.” Dr. Christian Hahner, Director of Daimler AG Group Research and responsible for the research strategy and technology management, emphasizes the great potential of this innovative cooperation for both sides.
Being “The Research University in the Helmholtz Association”, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 10,000 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 22,800 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence.