On Friday 28 August 2021 morning, as part of his state visit to the Czech Republic, German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife Elke Büdenbender visited the RICAIP International Research Centre at the Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics at the Czech Technical University in Prague (CIIRC CTU). The centre is the result of long-term Czech-German scientific cooperation in the field of Industry 4.0. President Steinmeier met representatives of the academic and industrial sectors who participate in the research and development of modern technologies for industry. He got acquainted with the latest experiments focused on robotics and artificial intelligence.
The Research and Innovation Centre on Advanced Industrial Production – RICAIP – connects industrial testbeds in the Czech Republic, specifically at CIIRC CTU and CEITEC BUT in Brno, with the testbed of the German research institutions DFKI and ZeMA in Saarbrücken. As a result, the experimental workplace Testbed for Industry 4.0 at CIIRC CTU has been equipped with the latest technologies for smart factories from European and national funds during the last year and a half.
“The opportunity to welcome the president at CTU is a great honor for us and a confirmation of the importance of our workplaces for the development of international cooperation in the field of Industry 4.0.”
Vojtěch Petráček, Rector of CTU
“The visit of the German president today is symbolic for us. Five years ago, almost to the day, in the presence of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, we signed the agreement on scientific cooperation with Prof. Wolfgang Wahlster, former director of DFKI. I am pleased that, after five years of hard work, we can present, in the same place, concrete results of our RICAIP Joint Centre, which transcend the borders of our two countries and demonstrate strong cooperation in Industry 4.0 at a truly international level.”
Prof. Vladimír Mařík, scientific director of CIIRC CTU
The German president saw a total of six robotic experiments in the testbed, some of which were prepared in cooperation with industrial companies. He was welcomed, among others, by Prof. Radimír Vrba from CEITEC BUT and by Prof. Michael Valášek, on behalf of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (FME CTU). FME participates in building the testbed and cooperates in connecting education with industrial applications.
“Both large multinational companies and Czech start-ups are involved in joint projects. Together with the companies, we are developing innovative solutions that can help transform Czech industry towards higher value-added production, especially in small and medium-size enterprises.”
The meeting with the German president was attended by partners of the National Centre for Industry 4.0, namely Eduard Palíšek, CEO of Siemens CR, Michael Oeljeklaus, Member of the Board of Directors of Škoda Auto, and José Perdomo Lorenzo, CEO of the T-Mobile Czech Republic and Slovak Telekom.
“The demonstrations that we prepared for the president’s visit cover a wide range of research of our teams at CIIRC CTU and within RICAIP. For example, with the DFKI team, we remotely connected the operator in Prague with the robots in the testbed in Saarbrücken to verify the feasibility of the principles of distributed production as well as remote human-robot cooperation.”
Tilman Becker, RICAIP director
RICAIP – Research and Innovation Centre on Advanced Industrial Production
A newly-established international distributed research centre of excellence (CoE) based on a strategic partnership of four major Czech and German research institutions. The founding partners are CIIRC CTU, CEITEC BUT, DFKI (Deutsches Forschungzentrum für Künstliche Intelligenz) and ZeMA (Zentrum für Mechatronik und Automatisierungstechnik), with its seat in Saarbrücken.
CIIRC CTU – Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics
A modern scientific and research institute of the Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU), which brings together excellent research teams, young talents and unique know-how to push technological boundaries and build on the best of Czech tradition in technical education. The focus of CIIRC CTU’s research work focuses on four basic pillars: industry, energy, smart cities and a healthy society, in both basic and applied research. More information at www.ciirc.cvut.cz.
