Complementary links increase the quality of research
The research infrastructure, the workshops and the researcher meetings at the barbecues: it is thanks to these community formats at the Center of Excellence Logistics and IT, that the developers of the intelligent small load carrier “Emili” can push their project forward even more intensively.
Discovering what we can share.
Logistics research in Dortmund is carried out at numerous different institutes and facilities. The Center of Excellence Logistics and IT offers all scientists a platform for interdisciplinary exchange. However, the community at the Center of Excellence is not only aimed at employees at scientific institutions, it is for all the stakeholders who are interested in excellent logistics research and who want to make a contribution to it themselves.
Researchers BBQ
Discussions about research and results with a series of workshops.
Research infrastructure
Inter-organizational use of all service facilities.
Conferences and congresses
Participation in national and international events.
Associations
Partnerships at strategic and operational level.
Series of publications
Images of the future of logistics, recorded in a special series of publications.
PHD School
Summer School für Promovierende der Logistik.
Our research infrastructure
Test centres and laboratories for all.
The logistics research facilities in Dortmund have an excellent research infrastructure – with each facility set up to focus on their own aspects of research. These include the research and application centre at the Innovationlab for Hybrid Services in Logistics at the TU Dortmund and the Fraunhofer IML as well as the ZFT hall for cellular transport systems at Fraunhofer IML and the laboratories for labour research at IfADo. The Center of Excellence Logistics and IT is now opening its test halls and experimental fields to the research community. All test systems and demonstrators can be used for scientific studies, for studies with industry, but also for bachelor, master’s or doctoral theses. The provision and use of laboratory capacities and equipment will be handled unbureaucratically – with as little red-tape as possible.
Application center
In the application centre at the Innovationlab for Hybrid Services in Logistics at the Fraunhofer IML, numerous test systems are available for the fields of intralogistics, maintenance, production, transport and employee training.
Research center
The research centre at the Innovationlab for Hybrid Services in Logistics at the TU Dortmund is equipped with state-of-the-art systems from the fields of localisation and wireless communication as well as various demonstrators.
LivingLab Cellular Transport Systems
The research hall for “Cellular Conveying Technology” (ZFT) at Fraunhofer IML is one of the largest test centres for the application of artificial intelligence in intralogistics, covering an area of 1,000 square metres. Numerous demonstrators – from intelligent containers to vehicle swarms with sensor technology – illustrate the control principles of the Internet of Things in this LivingLab.
Ifado Labs
The movement laboratory and the virtual reality laboratory at the Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors at the TU Dortmund (IfADo) offer state-of-the-art equipment for experiments in the field of cognitive ergonomics. These include test systems for motor and sensory abilities, mobile EEG and EMG measurement systems or force plates and analysis software for balance measurements.
Participate
Join the community now.
The community of the Center of Excellence for Logistics and IT thrives on discussion and exchanging information. This is where you can find out about exciting formats in which you can participate and offers that you can use.
Nicht löschen, interner Eintrag!
Bitte nicht löschen, dieser Eintrag hat technische Gründe
What is the “Researchers’ BBQ” for?
Our “Researchers’ BBQ” serves to foster the active exchange of research work and results from the Center of Excellence Logistics and IT. The aim of this unusual format is to link researchers from the various research clans with each other and with other institutions in Dortmund. The aim is to develop new ideas for joint projects, experiments using the infrastructure or scientific essays.
Each event consists of a scientific part and a social part for networking, which is the actual barbecue. The topics of the workshops in the scientific part are based on the work of the research clans or are introduced by the participating institutions, associated partners and companies.
The “Researchers’ BBQ” is aimed in particular at members of the research clans at the Center of Excellence Logistics and IT as well as employees from the participating institutions and associated partners. Representatives from industry who participate in research projects within the framework of the Center of Excellence Logistics and IT are also welcome.
We would be pleased to add you to our mailing list. Simply send an e-mail to info@leistungszentrum-logistik-it.de.
Does the Center of Excellence also host guest scientists?
Guest scientists from Germany and abroad are always welcome. The institutions under the umbrella of the Center of Excellence Logistics and IT all enjoy excellent reputations around the world. Linking up the scientific institutions and integrating companies under the umbrella of the Center of Excellence Logistics and IT creates a special dynamic from which our guest scientists can benefit during their research stays in Dortmund. The experience gained during consulting projects with industry is also very much in demand. The orientation towards applications particularly participants to look at strategically oriented topics from a completely different perspective.
Who can participate in the PhD School at the Graduate School of Logistics?
One of the specialities offered by the Graduate School of Logistics, and an excellent aspect of the Center of Excellence Logistics and IT, is a Summer School. It is aimed at doctoral students in logistics and related disciplines, e.g. computer science, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering or business administration. The program of the one-week PhD School is covered by the topics of the Center of Excellence Logistics and IT and by the employees of the center. Methods and theories are presented by top-class international visiting professors and implemented in practical workshops.
Further information can be found here.
Where are the research results of the Research Clans published?
Our Research Clans mainly publish their research results in joint papers at national and international conferences. The papers are collected centrally and can be found on this websiteunder “Publications” in the description of the respective clan. The publications are also maintained at Research Gate. The staff at the participating institutions and the project staff can also find the papers in our internal social collaboration tool.
What is the range of topics covered by the series of publications at Center of Excellence?
The series “Future Challenges in Logistics and Supply Chain Management” of the Fraunhofer IML is published in cooperation with the Center of Excellence Logistics and IT and the EffizienzCluster LogistikRuhr. The individual publications address current challenges in logistics, highlight trends and focus on new technologies and business models. They appeal to the broad specialist public.
scientists on average exchange views at a “Researchers’ BBQ”.
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of the participants regard the “Researchers’ BBQ” as a (very) good instrument for establishing new professional contacts.
Sausages have been grilled and eaten at “Researchers’ BBQs” so far.
News and events
User study Machine Learning in Logistics 2020 – In the future a high potential for ML in practice
The use of artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML) has been gaining increasing importance in logistics for some time now. The Center of Excellence Logistics and IT and the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics therefore wanted to find out by means of an online survey what the status of the implementation of current and planned projects as well as the information requirements from the user's point of view is in the ML area. The user study ML in logistics was designed and carried out by the Center of Excellence Logistics and IT between the end of 2019 and mid 2020. Companies were cordially invited to participate in the survey in order to gain a realistic picture of the spread and current significance of ML in logistics.
PhD Summer Weeks of the Graduate School of Logistics
Two weeks, two digital lectures and three digital workshops were this year's replacement program for the PhD School of Logistics - the Summer School of the Graduate School of Logistics, which unfortunately had to be cancelled this year due to Corona/COVID-19 in its original personal format. Over 35 participants from seven different countries took part in the free series. This year, not only doctoral students were admitted, but also company representatives and other interested parties from logistics and IT. The main topic was "Digital Twins in Logistics and Supply Chain Management".
New research laboratory at the IfADo in cooperation with the Center of Excellence Logistics and IT
The Leibniz Institute for Labour Research at the TU Dortmund University (IfADo) has developed a new gait laboratory as part of its activities in the Center of Excellence Logistics and IT. The Gait Real-Time Analysis Interactive Lab (GRAIL) enables realistic research approaches thanks to three-dimensional gait analysis. GRAIL will investigate how many cognitive resources walking requires. In order to systematically analyse such phenomena, the IfADo additionally analyses brain activity by means of electroencephalography (EEG).
Center of Excellence Logistics and IT presents a virtual presentation at the ICE Conference Paper on the Research Map Process
From 15 to 17 June, the International Conference on Engineering, Technology and Innovation 2020 took place virtually, inviting researchers, innovators and engineers to exchange and discuss the latest findings, developments and experiences relating to the central theme of digitisation. Instead of Cardiff, the conference took place in digital space due to Corona.
XR – Mixed Reality in logistics
Despite the corona pandemic, this workstream deals intensively with Mixed Reality (XR), Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), which have become an integral part of the logistics industry. In a new image film, Christoph Schlüter and his colleagues tell you about the work and success of the workstream and the possibilities of using XR and VR in logistics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvdiADK3onE
Second exchange between researchers from the Netherlands and the Center of Excellence
On 12 May, a presence day in the Rotterdam Sharehouse between researchers from the Netherlands and Dortmund was originally planned. Due to the corona pandemic this could not take place in this form. Instead, this exchange was successfully accomplished through a sequence of Microsoft Teams Meeting. In three sessions, the 25 Netherlands and Dortmund researchers discussed ideas for cooperation in the fields of artificial intelligence and logistics and agreed on steps for further cooperation.
Social wall
Publications
Future Challenges in Logistics and Supply Chain Management
The publication series “Future Challenges in Logistics and Supply Chain Management” by the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML takes up current challenges, highlights trends and focuses on new technologies and business models. The following four white papers from the Center of Excellence Logistics and IT have appeared in the series so far:
Cognitive ergonomics in logistics
The increasing digitalization in intralogistics is accompanied by changes in picking jobs. The aim is to analyse the stresses caused by these changes in order to optimise them in terms of a human-centred, ergonomic design for the employee.
Challenges of Human-Technology Interaction in Intralogistics
Technical progress leads to more flexible, dynamic processes whose complexity increases immensely. Human with their versatile abilities will continue to be an essential component of these systems. However, new forms of human-technology interaction are needed. Technology systems must adapt dynamically to people in order to make optimum use of the strengths of both sides.
Paradigm shift in the planning and control of value creation networks
In increasingly complex value creation networks, decisions will have to be made faster and more soundly in the future. In the course of this it is indispensable to develop new methods for decision support. Against the background of the paradigm shift towards industry 4.0, the planning and control of such networks will benefit greatly from approaches to modelling and simulation.
Importance of data in the age of digitalization
The growing importance of data as a resource in the creation of hybrid or purely digital business models is constantly presenting companies with new challenges. Enterprises must be supported by a holistic and scientifically based view from modelling to architecture and use of concrete technologies.
Log in now.
Members of the community can find up-to-date documents, studies and handouts from the research clans as well as from the research projects.
If you don’t have a password yet, please email us at info@leistungszentrum-logistik-it.de.
Contact
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Would you like to know more? We will be pleased to inform you about new projects and invite you to current events.
c/o Fraunhofer-Institut für Materialfluss und Logistik IML
Joseph-von-Fraunhofer-Straße 2–4 | 44227 Dortmund
info@leistungszentrum-logistik-it.de
Dr. -Ing. Christoph Besenfelder
Frederik Möller
Christoph Pott 
Dr. -Ing. Michael Schmidt