Reimund Neugebauer

The global population is expected to rise to 9.8 billion by the year 2050 - with everyone ultimately striving for prosperity. New methods must therefore be found to achieve more efficient production. Research to date shows that the biological inventory that has evolved: its products, processes, principles and tools, can spur modern technology. The development of technological innovations based on biological concepts, with the goal of particularly innovative and sustainable value creation, today is collectively known as "biological transformation". It results in highly functional products with striking properties that can be both manufactured and utilized in a resource-saving way. In terms of taking responsibility of the good of all people, biological transformation is therefore a path that applied research will have to take. The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft has recognized the developmental technology potential of biological transformation and sees it as its task not only to drive the relevant research forward, but also to promote public awareness of the topic.

Biological Transformation

Eckart Uhlmann

Günther Schuh

To meet and adapt to the current and future trends and issues in technology and society, the science committee of The German Academic Society for Production Engineering (WGP) continues to define future topics for production technology. These themes represent not only the key focus for the scientific work of the WGP, but also the central themes of the first annual conference in June 2011, whose paper is publically available in this volume. Such themes, including electric mobility, medical technology, lightweight construction, and resource efficiency, as well as mass production ability have all been identified as future, large-scale, and long-term drivers of change. Future trends influence changes sustainably and fundamentally; they permeate society, technology, economics, and value systems and have an effect in virtually all areas of life. The WGP has, as part of its research, established for itself the goal of not only observing these emerging changes, but also of supervising and influencing their development in order to ensure steady progress, secure sustainability, and shape the future.

Proceedings of the First Conference of the German Academic Society for Production Engineering (WGP), Berlin, Germany, 8th-9th June 2011

Future Trends in Production Engineering

With the exception of written letters and personal conversations, digital technology forms the basis of nearly every means of communication and information that we use today. It is also used to control the essential elements of economic, scientific, and public and private life: security, production, mobility, media, and healthcare. Without exaggerating it is possible to say that digital technology has become one of the foundations of our technologically oriented civilization. The benefits of modern data technology are so impressive and the potential for future applications so enormous that we cannot fail to promote its development if we are to retain our leading role in the competitive international marketplace. In this process, security plays a vital role in each of the areas of application of digital technology — the more technological sectors are entrusted to data systems technology, the more important their reliability becomes to us. Developing digital systems further while simultaneously ensuring that they always act and respond in the best interests of people is a central goal of the technological research and development propagated and conducted by Fraunhofer.

Digital Transformation

Für das Jahr 2050 erwarten wir eine Erdbevölkerung von 9,8 Milliarden Menschen – die letztlich alle nach Wohlstand streben. Auf der Suche nach einer effizienteren Produktion müssen daher neue Wege gefunden werden. Die bisherige Forschung zeigt, dass das evolutionär entstandene Inventar der Biologie, seine Produkte, Verfahren, Prinzipien und Werkzeuge, die Technik von heute enorm beflügeln kann. Die biologisch orientierte Konzeption technischer Entwicklungen mit dem Ziel einer besonders innovativen und nachhaltigen Wertschöpfung wird heute als „Biologische Transformation“ zusammengefasst. Sie führt zu hochfunktionellen Produkten mit bestechenden Eigenschaften, die zugleich ressourcenschonend hergestellt und benutzt werden können. Im Sinne der Verantwortung für das Wohl aller Menschen ist die Biologische Transformation daher ein Weg, den die angewandte Forschung gehen muss. Die Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft hat das entwicklungstechnische Potenzial der Biologischen Transformation erkannt und sieht ihre Aufgabe darin, nicht nur die einschlägige Forschung voranzutreiben, sondern auch die Wahrnehmung des Themas in der Bevölkerung zu fördern.

Reimund Neugebauer

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