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Software development center: Volkswagen opens IT-center in the Gläserne Manufaktur in Dresden

The Volkswagen Industrial Cloud is co-developed in Dresden

Volkswagen has opened a new IT Development Center in its Gläserne Manufaktur in Dresden. In Software Development Center Production (SDC Production), up to 80 newly hired IT specialists will be working on the Volkswagen Industrial Cloud. In the future, the Industrial Cloud will link all 122 Group-wide Volkswagen production facilities. The goal is to amalgamate all data, and in doing so consistently digitalise Production and Logistics.

The opening of the SDC also signifies a further step forward for the Gläserne Manufaktur, towards becoming a high-tech site and a Center of Future Mobility. On the day of the opening, it was already possible to see one of the first uses of the visual quality checks in assembly. One of the main focus points is the use of artificial intelligence, which suitably simulates human eyesight. The SDC developed the software for the visual quality checks of automated priming tasks for door and side windows – this robot application comes from the Dresden-based start-up Wandelbots.

Martin Hofmann, Head of IT for the Volkswagen Group, stated: “With the new IT Development Center in the Gläserne Manufaktur, our expert knowledge will continue to grow; skills in important areas of technology secure our future.”

Martin Dulig, Saxony’s Minister of State for Economy, Work and Transport: “I am pleased to hear Volkswagen’s decision to establish a Software Development Center in Saxony’s capital that is active both Group-wide and worldwide. The new unit in the Gläserne Manufaktur equally strengthens the automotive and IT site in Saxony. Intelligent software is becoming increasingly important in improving resource-efficient production processes.”

Thomas Popp, Head of the Saxony State Chancellery and Official Representative for Information Technology (CIO) of the Free State of Saxony: “All the ingredients for successful IT development meet in Saxony. Qualified specialists from universities, application-oriented research and the IT industry are of particular significance. The extraordinary level of commitment that Volkswagen has invested in the Development Center for the digital production platform in Dresden, as well as in the full renovation of the Zwickau factory for electric mobility, demonstrates the confidence in the conditions at the Saxony site. The State Chancellery welcomes the new IT developers of the digital ecosystem from around Dresden.”

“I am delighted that up to 80 IT jobs are to be created in Dresden anew. This is also a sign of how the ICT sector as a whole is booming in Dresden, indeed in Saxony as well, and is making a major contribution to the economic success of Silicon Saxony with annual sales of around 15 billion euros. And the new development in the Transparent Factory once again shows that Industry 4.0 in Dresden is no longer a dream of the future”, Dirk Hilbert, Mayor City of Dresden, says.

The Industrial Cloud brings together data from all factories. For example, the material flow can be organised more efficiently and delivery bottlenecks and process disruptions can be detected at an early stage. It enables smart real-time control – simultaneously in Wolfsburg and Shanghai, Dresden and Uitenhage (South Africa). One example: If a truck is stuck in a traffic jam, a component is faulty or a machine breaks down, everyone involved knows immediately.

The Industrial Cloud is being established together with Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS is a leader in the field of the Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning and computer services. In the Industrial Cloud, these technologies are being developed specifically for the automotive production environment. With Siemens, Volkswagen has gained its first major integration partner. Siemens contributes know-how in automation, connectivity of machines and systems, and the industrial IoT world to the collaboration.

With the rapid development of the industry-oriented software industry, the pioneering role of the TU Dresden in communication technology and the Dresden University of Applied Sciences (HTW), Saxony’s state capital has clear locational advantages. More than a third of the 220 specialists that were envisaged for the medium-term for the Industrial Cloud will therefore be working in Dresden. As well as Dresden, Volkswagen experts in Munich and Wolfsburg are supporting development work. In Berlin, the participating companies are planning a joint Industrial Cloud Innovation Center.

SOURCE: Volkswagen

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