The Berlin Center for Digital Transformation (LZDV) is celebrating its third prize in the Think Tank Awards given out by the Fraunhofer Society at Hannover Messe 2019. The Berlin-based Fraunhofer Institutes FOKUS, IZM, HHI, and IPK showcased their shared exhibit under the slogan »Light up your Production« to reveal how digital integration via wireless optical connections is an efficient solution for the stringent requirements common in the industrial arena. A manufacturing setup on site demonstrated »Optical Wireless Communication – OWC« as a promising alternative to radio-based WLAN networks. By using light instead of radio waves for wireless communication, OWC is not susceptible to radio interference and can achieve exceptional speed at minimal latency. A joint team from the institutes was present on site to accept their prize. The LZDV has been represented by Professor Dr. Dr. Eckart Uhlmann since October 2018 and is managed by Eckhard Hohwieler, Felix Fehlhaber, and Jeannette Baumgarten as marketing specialist from their professional home at Fraunhofer IPK.

The Think Tank Award is given to the best exhibits at the Fraunhofer Society’s group booths to promote more strategically attuned and audience-centric communication at expos and exhibitions. The second place went to the »SEAM-HEX | High-Speed 3D Printer for High-Performance Materials« project run by Dr. Martin Kausch on behalf of the Fraunhofer Institutes IWU and IPA, and the overall winner was Fraunhofer IFF under the leadership of Dr. Stefan Scharf, taking the prize for their work on a »Technology Concept for Smart and Sustainable Processes (in a Foundry Environment)«.

We are celebrating the achievements of all winning teams and are looking forward to the future their work promises us!