Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Cars
  3. News

With 3D printing and drone transport, Audi’s ‘smart factory’ is the workshop of the future

Andrew Hard
By

Audi factory
Image used with permission by copyright holder
First and foremost, Audi is a car company. But behind the presentations it makes on showroom floors, the automaker has a storied history with production line innovations and breakthroughs.

In February, the firm debuted an ergonomic, carbon fiber-clad ‘chairless chair,’ which helps factory workers improve posture and reduce leg strain. Now, a new feature in Audi’s online magazine Encounter looks to the future once again, envisioning a ‘smart factory’ inspired by science fiction.

Recommended Videos

“Automobile production as we know it today will no longer exist in the future,” said Prof. Dr. Hubert Waltl, a member of Audi’s Board of Management for Production. “It will become more connected, more intelligent and more efficient. At the same time, our employees will continue to be the drivers of successful production.”

Related

Practically, the brand sees human-robot collaboration, 3D printed parts, drone material transport, and piloted cars driving themselves off the production line as the next steps toward a truly ‘smart’ factory.

Audi smart factory
Image used with permission by copyright holder

“New specialists such as network architects will increasingly move into our industry,” continued Waltl. “With their IT expertise, they will configure machinery so that all processes will be extremely well coordinated and the factory equipment will optimally support the employees.”

These are clearly ambitious goals, especially given that Audi’s production facilities aren’t exactly in the stone age now.

As Encounter details, many of the automaker’s factories employ an augmented-reality tool called ‘Window to the World,’ which allows engineers to digitally envision vehicles by projecting 3D components onto a car’s basic form. It sounds like Minority Report, but Audi says it helps to refine concepts quickly, efficiently, and inexpensively.

These drafts are vital in the design process, and can seamlessly transfer over to Audi’s tooling division, which explores the 3D printing techniques that the group hopes to proliferate in the coming years.

At the firm’s gorgeous assembly plant in Ingolstadt, robots work side-by-side with humans, acting much like surgical assistants as they hand technicians components “at exactly the right speed and in an ergonomically pleasant position.”

Audi has always been a brand that looks ahead. In many ways, though, the future is now.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Andrew Hard
Andrew Hard
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Andrew first started writing in middle school and hasn't put the pen down since. Whether it's technology, music, sports, or…
This startup says it will be 3D-printing entire houses within a year
mighty buildings 3d print house 5

Is 3D printing the future of housebuilding? It certainly will be if new startup Mighty Buildings, which launched from stealth mode this week, has its way. The company builds houses rapidly using a giant 3D printer and proprietary 3D printing material that, unlike concrete, hardens almost immediately thanks to a UV light curing process. This technique allows it to create houses with 95% fewer labor hours and significantly less waste than traditional construction techniques, which could be a game-changer in the construction field.

“The 3D printing, robotic post-processing, and the ability to automate steps like the pouring of insulation means that Mighty Buildings will be able to automate up to 80% of the construction process,” Sam Ruben, chief sustainability officer and co-founder of the company, told Digital Trends.

Read more
Carbon Trainer fitness mirror whips you into shape using 3D cameras and sensors
carbon trainer first ai powered fitness mirror news specs price smart

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, what’s the hardest workout of them all? At-home workout mirrors have gained popularity in recent months, especially as many people avoid gyms in favor of properly social-distanced workouts. The problem that many people encounter is that it is difficult to properly strength train without heavyweights, and most people are tired of the same bodyweight fitness-slash-resistance band workouts. Carbon Trainer aims to fix that.

Carbon Trainer is the first artificial intelligence (A.I.) powered fitness mirror. Carbon Trainer is designed with serious workouts in mind and uses impressive artificial intelligence to reach that goal. The A.I. acts like a fitness coach and tracks every move through 3D motion-tracking technology. This allows Carbon Trainer to measure your progress, plan future workouts, and learn your capabilities. The mirror will alternate between pushing you past your limits and encouraging rest when necessary. Each workout utilizes the data gathered from previous workouts to create a tailor-made fitness regimen.

Read more
Inside the quest to 3D print a perfectly palatable steak
3D printed steak

As people grow more concerned about the impacts of the meat industry both on the environment and the animals involved, fake meats have experienced a boom in popularity. Products like Beyond Burger and Impossible Pork, for example, have captured the attention of vegans and vegetarians across the globe for their astonishingly meat-like tastes and textures. But while ground meat substitutes have made big strides in recent years, plant based versions of more choice cuts aren’t yet on the menu. Whole cuts of meat are the next milestone for the fake meat business, and companies around the world are sprinting to replicate the most iconic cut of all: Steak.

And they’re doing it through 3D printing.
Steak: Nature’s meaty masterpiece
Even the tastiest ground beef arrives in your kitchen as a mass of reddish flesh pressed into plastic or wax paper. Next to that, a good steak is a Michelangelo fresco, with layers of muscle fiber and fat.

Read more