In the Cross Innovation Lab, valve manufacturer GEA has questioned its analog product for the first time and thought up digital business models. The result is an AR prototype for easier maintenance.

Challenge

Innovation cycles are shortening, markets are becoming more complex - the framework conditions of industry are undergoing change. New solutions are needed to ensure that the manufacturing sector remains competitive in the global marketplace. In the Cross Innovation Lab, valve manufacturer GEA faced these challenges in collaboration with creative professionals.

Specifically, the question was how the functions of a digital valve twin can be used to drive GEA's products, processes and organizational development in the direction of Industry 4.0.

Output

Through collaboration with experts from the creative industries, a digital twin of a valve was developed within four workshops. Thanks in particular to the collaboration of a game designer, an augmented reality prototype was created in a very short time: with the help of a tablet, a real valve can be brought into focus. This lays the foundation for reading out information about the current valve status and any predictive maintenance requirements, or for transmitting virtual maintenance instructions.

In addition, new business models have been envisioned through the analysis of data.

Team: Kiran Gill, Konstantin Buchmann, Christian Oeing, Jan Dietrich, Aart Bezooijen, Imanuel Schipper.

The Cross Innovation Lab is an "asset by combining technical and creative thinking" to "develop our products in a forward-looking way."

GEA

Format & Method

In the Cross Innovation Lab, companies come together in changing constellations over a period of six weeks to work together on product developments in a stimulating environment. Experts from the creative industries are specifically involved in the process.

• Field research: At the beginning, the challenges of the companies are penetrated in a new kind of depth in cooperation with creative professionals - and their fresh perspective from the outside.
• Workshop phase: In a total of four workshop/lab days, the companies develop new solutions together with selected creative professionals.
• Feedback loops: Between the labs, a concept review takes place with all participating companies to further improve the products through joint feedback and exchange.

In the iterative work process, companies develop new products or product adaptations with significantly reduced time.