23. May 2025
How can artificial intelligence be transferred from research to industry? This question was at the heart of the RWTH Industry AIxChange, which brought together over one hundred participants from research and industry at the Smart Logistics Cluster on Campus Melaten on May 22. The event, organized by the Center for Artificial Intelligence (AI Center), the Cluster of Excellence Internet of Production, and RWTH Aachen Campus GmbH, demonstrates: this is not about visions, but about application.
Dialogue instead of monologue: Where innovation meets practice
„Germany is lagging behind in the practical application of AI.“
With this candid assessment, Prof. Wil van der Aalst, internationally renowned AI researcher and Chair of Process and Data Science at RWTH Aachen, opened the event together with Dr. Julia Mann. Not as a criticism, but as an invitation to collaborate. And that is precisely the strength of the RWTH Aachen ecosystem: companies and research institutions work closely hand in hand.
Paths are short, contacts are on equal footing, and professional exchange is intensive.
The RWTH Industry AIxChange was aimed exclusively at industry partners from the RWTH Aachen Campus ecosystem, the AI Center, and the Cluster of Excellence Internet of Production, providing the ideal setting for professional and open exchange. This was particularly evident at the “Marketplace,” where 14 centers and institutes showcased their current projects. Among them were the WBA Tooling Academy Aachen, the Center Integrated Business Applications (CIBA), the Center Data Intelligence in Operations (DIO), the Service Performance Center (SPC), the Industry 4.0 Maturity Center (I40MC), the Telemedicine Center Aachen, and the Invention Center.
Another exhibitor was the Center Smart Assembly, which demonstrated how AI can be used to optimize assembly processes. One of the showcased applications involved AI-based computer vision software analyzing assembly processes based on data. The AI was trained solely using synthetically generated image data to reduce the time required before deployment. The objective: to identify and record the assembly processes of experienced employees in order to automatically derive assembly instructions. This accelerates onboarding and enables the documentation of implicit knowledge—an important advantage in times of skilled labor shortages. The application was developed as part of the research project AGASTIK, in collaboration with the Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL) of RWTH Aachen University and funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
Industrial Impulses: Balancing Reality and Potential
Dr. David Welling (WBA) and Thomas Unseld (hiqs) gave a practice-oriented presentation on how AI is already unlocking efficiency potential in production today—while also highlighting the challenges that arise, for example, in toolmaking. Their conclusion: progress is a shared journey that must include technology, processes, and people alike.
In the concluding panel discussion, Joerg Herbers (Inform), Annika Lorenz-Kornfeld (REWE Digital), Prof. Wil van der Aalst (Chair of Process and Data Science), and Prof. Michael Riesener (research area Deep Tech Innovation) discussed key issues in dealing with artificial intelligence. The discussion focused on multiple perspectives: how AI is transforming industrial practice, but also what demands and challenges it brings for companies. The panelists agreed: only through cooperative approaches can new technologies be meaningfully and sustainably integrated into existing systems.
Part of Something Bigger: Aachen AI Week
The RWTH Industry AIxChange was part of Aachen AI Week, which brings together researchers and industry from Aachen and beyond to showcase cutting-edge AI research at RWTH, connect key players from academia and industry, engage in dialogue with citizens on AI-related topics, and educate the next generation about artificial intelligence. Currently, around 90 research groups at RWTH are working on AI-related topics—further proof of the breadth and depth of activities. The focus is not only on technological excellence, but also on providing concrete answers to pressing questions from industry. And on the challenge of turning excellent research into market-ready applications—together, in a structured way, and with direct benefits for companies.