After an intensive year and a half, the FlexTools project has successfully completed its first half.

On January 14, 2025, the milestone meeting of the FlexTools project took place in Karlsruhe. The project partners, associated colleagues and the project sponsors came together at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the FZI Research Center for Information Technology to present the progress made so far and prepare for the next project phase. The event provided a valuable opportunity to reflect on developments to date, analyze challenges and discuss the next steps. The following day, the consortium continued these discussions and set out a clear roadmap for the second half of the project.

Important milestones have been reached since the start of the project in September 2023. A central goal of FlexTools is to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the automotive supply industry with the introduction of autonomous mobile robotics (AMR). Especially in brownfield environments, where existing structures and processes must be maintained, the integration of AMR poses a major challenge. This is where the project comes in with a modular system designed to enable flexible and scalable automation.

The results to date include the development of a planning tool that supports companies in the implementation of AMR solutions, as well as an algorithm repository with microservices that provides various control methods. In addition, a localization toolbox has been developed that enables AMRs to navigate efficiently in complex environments. Another key component is the digital twin, which enables virtual commissioning and the simulation of AMR scenarios, allowing companies to run through and optimize various scenarios before the actual implementation.

In addition to the technical development, organizational and economic aspects were also taken into consideration. The introduction of autonomous mobile robotics requires not only new technological solutions, but also targeted employee training and well thought-out change management. Initial concepts for training measures were therefore developed to prepare specialists for the new processes and create acceptance for the technology. In addition, innovative gripping concepts and automated calibration procedures have been developed to facilitate the use of robotic systems under varying conditions. The developments to date are currently being tested in two applications in order to evaluate and further improve their suitability for practical use.

The second phase of the project will now focus on the further development of the FlexTools components. The aim is to further optimize the solutions developed so far and to integrate additional partners into the project in order to expand the application possibilities and adapt the technologies even more closely to the needs of SMEs. In addition, the consortium will work on testing the developed methods in real industrial environments and demonstrating concrete implementation scenarios.

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