HANNOVER, Germany, April 3 (Xinhua) -- The sprawling halls of Hannover Messe, a leading annual trade fair in Germany, have long been considered a barometer of industrial innovation.

This year's event, which runs from March 31 to April 4, has shown how the latest technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) - which used to seem like a futuristic concept - are rapidly reshaping the reality and vision of industrial manufacturing.

AI BECOMING REALITY

AI has become an increasingly important topic at Hannover Messe, thanks to rapid advancements in generative AI technologies.

Across the booths and presentations at this year's fair, delegates agreed that potential uses for AI in industrial manufacturing are rapidly multiplying: from chat assistants that work collaboratively with machines to AI-powered visual inspectors.

Kyle Young, principal group product manager at Microsoft Corporation, elaborated on this development, particularly its impact on frontline workers.

AI could help frontline technicians do tasks that are time-consuming or repetitive, like filling out their reports after a service, Young told Xinhua. AI could be used to deploy frontline technicians to help them arrive at the right place at the right time, thereby optimizing scheduling to reduce travel time and fuel consumption.

Frontline workers are "very optimistic about how AI is going to help them," Young said, given that the technology could reduce their workloads and improve efficiency. This in turn is helping boost acceptance of AI, he added.

ROBOT COLLEAGUES

Working in tandem with the rise of AI is the increasingly capable humanoid robot. The prominence of these robots at this year's Hannover Messe signals their potential transition into diverse industrial and service roles.

High-profile collaborations such as Mercedes-Benz partnering with Apptronik and BMW working with Figure AI are evidence of serious investment in humanoid robots from major industrial players, said Jan Niklas Muelheims, senior consultant at EY Business Consulting.

The huge potential of humanoid robots will bring increasing demand, which will contribute more than 60 percent of annual growth over the next few decades. The number of humanoid robots could potentially reach 650 million worldwide by 2050, more than the current population of the European Union (EU), said Muelheims.

With AI and humanoid robot technologies developing fast, "I am pretty sure that in the next few years we will see these kinds of robots used in a lot of different applications," said Danny Ehlerding, key-account-manager at MYBOTSHOP GmbH, a robotics distributor based in Germany.

Ehlerding told Xinhua that since more capable humanoid robots are now available, the company has received more requests from the industrial sector, such as using humanoid robots in warehouses for packing.

"Since the beginning of the year, we have sold over 50 units," Ehlerding said. "It will be a very exciting year."

HYDROGEN'S REALITY CHECK

Meanwhile, the crucial pillar of sustainable energy, particularly hydrogen, presented a more complex picture at this year's Hannover Messe.

Acknowledging the "hype" phase of inflated expectations in recent years when "everyone thought hydrogen would solve all our energy problems," Christopher Hebling, international director at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, described the current moment as a "valley of disillusionment."

The current phase of hydrogen's development is a reality check, Hebling said during the trade fair, although he added that while progress might seem slower than initially hoped, "the game is not over."

Drawing a parallel with photovoltaics (PV), Hebling noted that it took roughly 70 years from the first Bell Labs device in 1954 until the global PV market reached its first terawatt in 2022. However, the second terawatt took only two more years, and the third is expected to be even faster.

"So we should be patient, but we should strengthen our forces so that all the bits and pieces come together," said Hebling. Enditem

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