Networking and knowledge sharing for Alliance members at Knowledge Camp 2024

The second round of the Open Industry 4.0 Alliance's Knowledge Camp took place once again from 28-29 February, on the premises of Alliance member MULTIVAC, in Wolfertschwenden, Germany.

The two-day event – exclusively for Alliance members and partners – comprising of 34 presentations and workshops to attendees, offered a variety of experience reports and suggestions from OI4 professionals.

The event, divided into four themes – Digital Twin, IT-OT Integration, Manufacturing-X/Factory-X/SMEs and “From Connectivity to Articifal Intelligence” – with three sessions streamed online, making them accessible to interested parties and external audiences who could not be on site. In total, around 130 visitors a day travelled to the event, a significant increase over last year.

This year, audience engagement was even greater, as participants have gained a much deeper understanding of technical topics and also thanks to the audience being more comfortable with the venue, so we saw numerous more dynamic exchanges, conversations, and sessions between members and partners. These discussions continued afterwards during lively networking events. 

The second day of Knowledge Camp focused on strategic Open Industry 4.0 Alliance points and also on topics outside the Alliance. In addition to these technical aspects, project-orientated talking points were also addressed, as well as Manufacturing-X, led by Georg Kube from SAP, Jonas Wirth from Trumpf, and external speakers.

This year, there was an even more international audience, and saw us welcoming the 40Factory from Italy, which presented AI topics, as well as members from Australia and Japan. Dr Christian Liedtke, Dr Marius Gratwohl, Georg Kube, and Jan-Rémi Fromentin, from the OI4 Board, were present at the Knowledge Camp and always involved in discussions with members.

In addition to the presentations and workshops, nine member companies also showcased their projects and solutions at a small exhibition. OI4 also presented its own Digital Product Passport project - more on this will be on show at this year’s Hannover Messe - as well as the Follow the Twin Challenge, which was also part of a presentation.

Feedback from every participant was enthusiastic about this year's very international Knowledge Camp and has given us a huge amount of positive feedback on the organisation and content –confirming the OI4's decision to continue and expand the Knowledge Camp. We also offer special thanks to MULTIVAC for being the perfect host!