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Non-contact laser measuring systems which scan their surroundings two-dimensionally. A pulsating laser beam scans the surroundings in one plane by way of a rotating mirror. When the individual beams encounter objects, they are reflected. By evaluating all the reflected beams, a map is created of the surroundings in the scan plane

Production process by which a component is printed layer by layer. Depending on the method, the individual layers may be of powderous polymer, metallic powder or ink, and are hardened, sintered or fused together after each layer has been printed.

Refers to the number of fundamental ways in which a solid object can move through a 3D space. In total, there are six degrees of freedom. 6DoF refers to the translational movement along these axes, generally understood as forward or backward motion, upward or downward motion, or left or right motion.

A component which converts electronic signals into mechanical motion or other physical quantities, such as pressure or temperature.

A system capable of detecting the  degree of a driver’s visual attention  towards the traffic and warning the  driver if they become distracted.

A generally interpretable unique description of a sequence of actions to resolve a – usually mathematical – problem.

A combination of the perceived real world and virtual reality generated by computer. Users are provided with information to complement and enhance what they experience in the real world.

Ensures that the communication partner at the other end is authentic.

An avatar is a computer-generated 3D character that represents a human user in the online world.

The back-end is the component of a client/server architecture or computer system kept away from the ultimate user. In a client/server architecture, the back-end is the server serving the clients. Back-ends may be mainframe or workstation computers, for example, to which peripherals are connected.

The process of focusing a radio signal using intelligent multi-antenna technology in a specific direction, thereby achieving better signal strength and quality.

In the context of AI, this term describes the bias of a system that leads to a tendency, distortion or even an error in results. This is because, when learning from data sets, artificial intelligence adopts the cultural stereotypes or prejudices of the people who created or generated these data sets.

The back-end is the component of a client/server architecture or computer system kept away from the ultimate user. In a client/server architecture, the back-end is the server serving the clients. Back-ends may be mainframe or workstation computers, for example, to which peripherals are connected.

Term combining the words “biology and “electronics”. According to VDI standard 6220 defined as follows: Bionics is a discipline combining biology and electronic technology to deliver technical solutions based on abstraction, transfer and application of findings from biological models.

A virtual ledger in a network of computers. Each change is recorded and distributed and stored on multiple computers. As a result, it no longer requires a central entity, such as a bank or authority.

Internationally standardised wireless data interface. It enables different mobile devices, such as mobile phones or laptop computers, to connect wirelessly. A wireless connection is made between the various devices’ transmitter and receiver units. A range of around 10 metres can be covered – enough to connect vehicles’ on-board devices, or a smartphone with accessories.

Highly energy-efficient variant of Bluetooth, standardised primarily for the transfer of sensor values and control data.

A direct interface between the brain and a machine or computer that records the brain’s electrical activity using electrodes, analyses it and transforms it into control signals.

Umbrella term for Internet access via networks operating at high data transfer rates, implemented as DSL, cable TV or wireless technology (UMTS, WLAN, LTE, satellite etc.).

In a bus system, numerous end devices share a single data line (bus line). Since only one end device may use the data line at any given time, bus systems always require a protocol to regulate access rights.

Information unit; consists of eight bits.

Charge-coupled Device

Program that simulates human conversation. Chatbots are not just speech-based, but can also work using text. The chatbot is trained in advance on the answers it can give to questions from the conversation partner.

Provision of IT resources over the Internet on demand, billed according to actual usage.

The dynamically demand-based offering, use and billing of IT services over a network such as the Internet.

Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor

A manufacturing process that automates the control, movement and  precision of machine tools using pre-programmed computer software.

A serial bus system, originally developed to reduce the wiring effort in vehicles.

Central Processing Unit

Software-intensive embedded systems which are linked to each other but also to data and services on the Internet.

Solutions to counter the risks posed by connecting to and over the Internet.

A short form of the phrase “cybernetic organism”.

Processing large data sets (big data), whereby individual data parts are connected to one another, bringing about new information.

Protection of the sensitive interests and privacy of natural persons and legal entities against misuse by electronic media.

Laws and technical measures aimed at preventing the unauthorised storage, processing and distribution of sensitive data.

Sub-area of machine learning in which deep neural networks are used. Whilst machine learning works using linear algorithms, the algorithms in deep learning are hierarchical, organised according to increasing complexity.

A digital representation of a real entity or system. The implementation of a digital twin is an encapsulated software object or model that mirrors a unique physical object, process, organisation, person or other abstraction.

At the core of a Digital Light Processing (DLP) system is a chip carrying more than eight million micro-mirrors. Individually controlled, the micro-mirrors are tilted either towards a light source (ON) or away from it (OFF). This generates a bright or dark pixel on the viewed object. A a result, a light pattern can be projected onto a scene which is likewise captured by a camera. A 3D pixel cloud can be calculated from the distortion of the pattern caused by the object.

A driver assistance system (ADAS) that monitors the driver’s eye and head movements for signs of fatigue or distraction.

WLAN variant for ad-hoc communication in the 5-GHz frequency band of IEEE 802.11p. DSRC is used in conjunction with V2X, and is normally referred to as ITS-G5 in Europe.

Intelligent processor-controlled units and modules in the automotive sector which monitor specific functions and report malfunctions.

Umbrella term for measures to improve healthcare based on the use of information and communications technology.

A measurement of the electrical currents that regulate the heartbeat, displayed as a curve.

Hardware and software components integrated into a unified system to implement system-specific functional features.

A field bus developed by the Beckhoff corporation characterised by extremely short and predictable delay and cycle times (real-time Ethernet).

Ethernet Industrial Protocol (EtherNet/IP) is an open industry standard for industrial real-time Ethernet, based on TCP/IP and UDP/IP.

Umbrella term for various physical bus systems used in industrial automation, production engineering, building automation and automotive engineering.

The result of a standardisation initiative by the Japan Electrical Manufacturers Association (JEMA) led by Mitsubishi. FL-Net is an Ethernet-based standard for communications between intelligent controllers.

The application of physical force in response to user inputs.

Field Programmable Gate Array

A system is considered to be functionally safe when its electrical, electronic and programmable components always react in such a way that no intolerable harm is created in the environment of the machine or device concerned.

Link between two networks or subnetworks

General Packet Radio Service

Global Positioning System

A user interface that graphically displays information, typically with movable windows, buttons and icons.

Global System for Mobile Communications

A gyrosensor or gyrometer registers and measures rotary motion.

Someone who gains unauthorised access to IT systems by bypassing their security

Stand-alone devices, modules or cards in which cryptographic keys are generated and stored. They assure the integrity of data.

Hypertext Markup Language

Combination of private and public Cloud and traditional IT environment.

Standard for local wireless networks. The various versions of the standards differ in terms of transfer rate, frequency band, modulation method, number of channels, etc. The a, b, g, n and ac versions are used in conventional Wi-Fi (WLAN) networks. IEEE 802.11p is an add-on to establish wireless technology in vehicles and create a reliable wireless standard for intelligent traffic systems.

Classifies the protection against mechanical impact, the degree of impact resistance.

A term describing a type of experience or technology that completely immerses the user in a virtual world.

also known as Smart Manufacturing

Phase of application of artificial intelligence. After the system has been trained, it calls on what it has learned in its inference and expands its knowledge.

A globally standardised IO technology (IEC 61131-9) to communicate with sensors and also actuators.

Internet of Things

An address within a computer network

The level of protection provided by an enclosure for electrical devices against dust and other foreign bodies, accidental touch and water is described by the IP code. IP stands for “Ingress Protection”. The code was defined by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in the standard IEC 60529.

Internet Protocol version 6 enables unique identification of a corresponding number of devices

A new satellite frequency band between 26.5 GHz and 40 GHz which has been in use for satellite Internet for a number of years. The benefits of Ka band frequencies are much higher transfer rates and the ability to transmit data in a concentrated way to a very small reception area.

A method of optical distance and speed measurement related to radar. It involves the emission of laser beams. Sensors then detect the reflected light. The distance is calculated from the travel time of the light.

The light field camera’s image sensor detects not only the brightness and colour values but also the many different incidence angles of the light beams. The focal plane can be adjusted to specific objects so as to place some image planes in sharp focus while others are out of focus.

Wireless network for machine-to-machine communication

Long Term Evolution

Successor to LTE. The mobile communications technology enables transfer rates of up to 1 gigabit per second.

Machine-to-Machine

Procedure by which computer systems acquire knowledge independently and can expand their knowledge, allowing them to be better able to solve a given problem than previously. The system extracts the most important patterns and characteristics from large data volumes, and can make predictions based on them.

Micro-Electro-Mechanical System

Nano-Electro-Mechanical System

Computer programs inspired by the functionality of organic neurons and capable of learning tasks.

Near Field Communication

Technology that deals with processing natural language. Using relevant algorithms, computers can understand human language and its content-based significance, and execute relevant instructions.

Method for determining the position of a mobile robot in motion. The positioning is based on measurement of the movements of the individual robot wheels.

Mostly public data which is freely available and usable.

A standardised Cloud environment controlled and operated by a company itself. It is available exclusively to the company’s employees and partners.

Profinet is a universal concept devised by the German Profibus user organisation PNO for the homogeneous integration of Profibus into the IT environment.

IT environment operated by an IT service provider. Users access resources over the Internet and share a virtualised infrastructure.

Radio detection and ranging

Radio-Frequency-Identification

RFID tags are small transponders

Device interconnecting multiple computer networks.

A GPS system which additionally works with one or more base stations. The stations know their own position to within a centimetre and transmit momentary correction values by wireless or GSM to the vehicle’s GPS receiver. The receiver then determines its own position with the aid of at least four satellites, and corrects it in real time based on the correction value received from the nearby base station.

Software as a Service

The intelligent convergence and processing of all (environmental) sensor data required for autonomous processes. The results of sensor fusion are better than those obtained from the interpretation of measured values from individual sensors.

Central network computer via which functional and infrastructural network services are provided.

Lock code to restrict the use of SIM cards

Also called technological singularity – the point in time at which machines are so advanced that they can upgrade themselves.

In the Smart Factory, people, machines and resources communicate freely.