The Research Clan »Design of Sociotechnical Systems« of the Excellence Center was represented with an online-exhibit at the digital Hannover Messe. The researchers presented the latest results from their Mixed Reality (XR) Lab.
The vision of the scientists is to realize the fusion of reality and virtual world e.g. in production control, workplace design and training. By means of a video, the participants of the Hannover Messe were able to get an impression of the research goals of the scientists and gained insights into current projects. »Virtual reality in particular is currently developing rapidly: forecasts see a huge spread,« said Christoph Schlüter of Fraunhofer IML, an expert in XR applications and serious games in logistics. »We are essentially concerned with training games, i.e. serious games for training employees.«
At the Hannover Messe, the researchers presented, among other things, their picking training with optional integration of a pick-by-voice system as well as a forklift simulation for training rule awareness and process knowledge in the warehouse. This is already being used by DB Schenker at the Tilburg site in the Netherlands. Christoph Schlüter: »For serious games like this, the closer they are to reality, the greater the chances that we can really teach people something here.«
It is not only at events such as the Hannover Messe that the researchers at the performance center are currently passing on their knowledge: the first episode of the new podcast “On the Road – Innovations in Logistics” from the Information Logistics and Assistance Systems department at Fraunhofer IML already dealt with XR. Anyone who is interested can find the podcast here (german only).
