KUKA holds its first software and digitalisation event

Following the establishment of a new digital division, KUKA, the Germany-based automation group, held its first software and digital event last month at its headquarters in Augsburg, under the slogan ‘KUKA digital_powering your business’. The long-established supplier of industrial robots is increasingly focusing on the ‘consistent and seamless digitalisation of global industrial landscapes’. To this end, the highlight of the event was the unveiling of mosaixx, an open, collaborative cloud platform for industrial software-as-a-service (SaaS).

KUKA's Development and Technology Centre was transformed into a discussion platform for software, digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI). In workshops, panel discussions and keynote speeches, customers and partners from the global mechanical and plant engineering sector, the automotive industry and representatives of major software companies, discussed current challenges in the economy and solutions for driving seamless digitalisation in industry.

In an Expo area, KUKA provided exclusive insights into its software and digital offerings with products and solutions for the digitalisation of the entire lifecycle of a production — from the first layout idea of a factory in a planning software, hosted on the cloud platform ‘mosaixx’, to the simulation and offline programming of the factory with visual components, the simulation and programming of the integrated robots with KUKA.Sim and the AI-based Microsoft KRL Copilot, through to the subsequent networking of the robots with KUKA.iiQoT and the expertise of Device Insight in shopfloor digitalisation and data analysis in the sense of a data-driven factory.

The new KUKA Digital division, with its hardware-independent software and digital offering from mosaixx, Visual Components and Device Insight, was the focus of the event. The new division’s offering is based on KUKA's robotics and plant engineering expertise and promotes seamless digitalisation.

Quirin Görz, KUKA's digital division CEO, said: “We have to fight against tentative stand-alone solutions in the factory halls. Industrial digitalisation will only really work if it is thought through consistently, from the initial idea to the finished plant. This will open up enormous opportunities for industry, especially in challenging times. That is why we are driving our software and digital business forward independently of hardware. We are proud of our hardware and our robots. Now is the time to be proud of our software.”

From high-tech to standard — the changing face of mechanical engineering industrial robotics and automation solutions are becoming increasingly important and are being used in more and more markets worldwide. At the same time, software is playing an ever more decisive role. What used to be solved mechanically is now being taken over by electronics and the associated software.

Digital movers and shakers
During a recent visit to KUKA, Dr Fabian Mehring, Bavarian State Minister for digital affairs, said: “Digitalisation and software made in Bavaria are of existential importance for our future economic strength. As a country with high energy prices and wages, we urgently need digital movers and shakers and a strong Bavarian tech sector to carry our prosperity into the future through innovative new markets. With its new digital focus, KUKA is setting the right course for the AI age, to shape digitalisation and AI on a global scale from Augsburg.”

Planning, implementing and later operating a production facility is a complex process. With regard to the associated software, this often means that billing models are inflexible, the required software products are not cloud-compatible and thus tied to local computers, making collaboration on projects impossible. This is where mosaixx comes in. Tailored to the needs of special machine manufacturing, it uses a combination of software tools, data management, cloud computing and process understanding to provide the basis for seamless digital production.

System integrators and other engineering customers get access to a wide range of software solutions for ECAD and MCAD programs, simulation, offline programming and virtual commissioning. This enables engineers to efficiently structure their workflows within a project in a shared and location-independent work environment with processes, workflows and cloud storage, link them securely and bill them as needed. mosaixx is initially aimed at small and medium-size companies in the DACH region and in Europe. Expansion to North America is planned for early 2025.