Automechanika Frankfurt will host a special area known as the ‘Workshop of the Future’ in collaboration with the German Federation for Motor Trades and Repairs (ZDK) and the Future Workshop 4.0 of the Institute for Automotive Industry (IfA). The area will cover 1,000 square metres of Hall 9 at the Messe Frankfurt fair ground.“Our aim as an industry association is to present the topic of the ‘workshop of the future’ in an attractive way for the trade fair audience,” said ZDK Vice President Detlef Peter Gruen, Federal Guild Master of the Automotive Trade. “With Future Workshop 4.0, we have found a recognised institution in the automotive industry that will present innovative solutions together with some of its partner companies. In addition, our experts will inform visitors about important topics in workshops and car dealerships.”Professor Benedikt Maier, Deputy Director of the IfA and Managing Director of Future Workshop 4.0, said: “Nowhere else can so many technical innovations for the automotive aftermarket be seen and experienced in such a compact space.”The centrepiece will be the innovation laboratory that covers 300 square metres of the indoor section. Every day of the fair, the ZDK and its experts will provide information on important industry topics live and through online streaming. Visitors will be able to experience how a workshop visit could take place in the near future, showing how a vehicle drives through a scanner that carries out an AI-supported condition diagnosis and feeds the interpreted information into subsequent workshop processes. The lab will also host a live demonstration showing how robotic industrial trucks autonomously deliver parts required for repairs from a warehouse.The Academy Deutsches Kraftfahrzeuggewerbe (TAK) will present a vehicle with hydrogen technology and discuss the challenges of repair and maintenance of these types of vehicles. There will also be a McLaren from Partner Carbon, which will showcase its CBR system for modern body repairs. Additionally, the Institute of Automotive Technology (KTI) will look at economical accident repairs using an example of concealed sensors as components of driver assistance systems.In a second exhibition area, 14 companies will present future workshop solutions at seven thematically structured areas – diagnostics and automation, electromobility, process automation, AI and robotics, extended reality (XR), networked workshop, training and further education, digital workflow, and sustainability. Up to three independent companies of institutions will offer summarised information at each focus area.The third component of the special exhibition is the ZDK industry meeting point, a spacious area that includes features such as a web studio for live internet broadcasts. Additionally, each day ZDK experts will provide information from industry experts in 30-minute technical presentations on topics such as state-of-health assessments of traction batteries, SERMA, calibration of driver assistance systems, particle measurement, air conditioning hygiene, marketing for young talent, and digital vehicle registration.Automechanika Frankfurt takes place from 10 to 14 Septmeber.
