Retrofitting is on the agenda! – The Future Center sets the course for future viability
Staying fit for the future means constantly optimizing yourself.
For this it is recommended Data about your own processes to collect and evaluate them – if you have the opportunity to do so. In the context of companies and businesses, this can mean that outdated, non-digital machines have to be replaced and one is faced with high costs and a lot of effort. The more sustainable alternative is called Retrofitting! That means that Old machines are made fit for the future through upgrading and renewal instead of being replaced. So the train is far from having left the ground, because retrofitting makes it possible to retrofit machines in such a way that they become future-proof and competitive again. The Future Center impressively demonstrates the possibilities that currently exist using an illustrative example:
At events or trade fairs where the Future Center is represented, you can now find an installation that allows visitors to experience retrofitting up close and even try it out. This is one battery powered train a well-known toy brand, which retrofitted with various elements and can impressively demonstrate which new components can be subsequently integrated into a running system. The most important are Sensorswhich have been installed on many areas of the route as well as on the train itself and collect information. Those will then be sent to the main computing unit sent where they are collected. This gives you, among other things, information about the location and speed of the train, its weight, the temperatures inside and outside, how often it has passed a certain point and whether there is anything in the immediate vicinity in front of it, which also results in automatic braking. The control of the train is taken over by another unit – a so-called Controller –, which is located outside the track and can use hand gestures to give the train the commands to move off, stop or reverse. The driving speed can also be regulated.
In addition to the controller, a Tablet as an additional control unit, which can also be used to give the command to return to the siding. This command is sent both to the train itself and to a servo on the track that controls the switch. An ultrasonic sensor is then used there, which tells the train how close it is to the buffer stop and when it needs to brake. In addition, the tablet also offers the option of viewing and reading out all of the data collected by the computing unit and makes it possible to query temperature, speed and other data during ongoing operation.
All of these options, shown using the train as an example, impressively show which technologies can be retrofitted to otherwise analog devices and how versatile their uses can be. The selection of sensors themselves is just as diverse and can be found in a wide variety of price ranges, although smaller projects can already be implemented with those in the lower class. In the example mentioned, they were Costs of the retrofitted elements at only around €150 – and therefore on the same level as the complete toy train set. If you think a step further, the collected data can be further analyzed using AI to find irregularities, predict failures or similar. Retrofit can therefore provide the basis for further optimization through other technologies, such as AI.
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