Artificial intelligence is no longer just a topic for big tech companies: whether in communication, quality control or production, more and more practical applications are also emerging in the skilled trades to make businesses more efficient. The two TTZs at HNU - the TTZ Smart Production and Logistics in Leipheim and the TTZ for Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence in Günzburg - and their cooperation partners took up these opportunities with the workshop “Experiencing AI in the skilled trades in practice”. The aim of the event was to show small and medium-sized companies from the region concrete ways in which they can integrate AI into their day-to-day work in a meaningful and profitable way.
“The use of artificial intelligence in the skilled trades holds enormous potential for making work processes more efficient,” says Alfred Kailing, Deputy Managing Director of the Swabian Chamber of Skilled Crafts. "We are on the cusp of widespread use - even in small and medium-sized businesses. Now it's all about concrete use cases. This is precisely where the strength of our cooperation partners, the TTZ in Leipheim and Günzburg, comes into its own, working with us and our skilled trades companies with a real hands-on mentality to show how it can be done."
Strong response: a clear signal for the relevance of AI in the skilled trades
The event was very well received by the skilled trades companies: the event was fully booked with around 40 participants. "The digital transformation is not a trend, but a necessity for modern skilled trades. Those who don't keep up today run the risk of being left behind tomorrow. The high number of participants clearly shows that the topic has long since arrived in practice and that many are already working intensively on it," emphasized District Master Craftsman Michael Stoll. “AI offers great advantages for the skilled trades,” confirms Axel Egermann, Managing Director of Regionalmarketing Günzburg GbR. "We just have to manage to keep the barriers as low as possible, and an event like this is ideal for this. We are glad that we have so much expertise in our region with Areal Digital, the two TTZs, the HNU and also the HWK."
AI - but how? Practical impulse and workshops
After the welcome by Prof. Dr. Jürgen Grinninger, Head of the TTZ Leipheim, Alexander Koch, Network Manager Areal Digital, District Master Craftsman Michael Stoll and the Commissioner for Innovation and Technology (BIT) with a focus on digitization at the HWK Schwaben, Lukas März, the participants were given a keynote speech by HNU Prof. Dr. Alexander Bartel on real application examples of artificial intelligence. "AI has come to stay. Its use can be decisive for competition," says the expert in agile software engineering. "Especially in the skilled trades, it's important for me to show what AI can already do today - and what it can't (yet) do. Only then can companies make informed decisions about how they want to deal with it".
This was followed by two parallel workshops that offered practical points of contact: In the workshop “Practical use cases for everyday trade: getting to know and testing AI tools”, Prof. Dr. Alexander Bartel and his research assistants Sarah Dreher and Amrei Kugler from TTZ Günzburg introduced participants to the world of prompting. Prof. Dr. Jürgen Grinninger (TTZ Leipheim) and his research assistant Tobias Hierse shed light on the second workshop entitled "More time for the essentials: Automation for administrative activities in the skilled trades", how software robots and AI can be used to automate repetitive activities in the skilled trades (e.g. inquiry processing) and thus make them more efficient.
Exchange, networking and individual support
After the practical work in the workshops, a relaxed get-together with drinks and snacks provided space to exchange ideas with other companies, AI experts and the organizers. There was also the opportunity to discuss individual questions about your own AI projects and find out about suitable funding programs.
Technology transfer centers: bridge builders between theory and practice
“The technology transfer centers are bridge builders - from theoretical knowledge to practical application in day-to-day operations,” says Prof. Dr. Jürgen Grinninger. “Today we have experienced together how fruitful this exchange between research and practice can be. I hope that we will continue this dialog, provide new impetus and shape the use of AI in the skilled trades together in the long term.”
Contact
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Grinninger
Prof. Dr. Alexander Bartel
