“Three relevant yet neutral partners have pooled their respective strengths and are thus opening up a unique showcase for the future of workshops to trade fair visitors at Automechanika 2024. Nowhere else can so many technical innovations for the automotive aftermarket be seen and experienced in such a compact space,” summarises Professor Benedikt Maier, Deputy Director of the IfA and Managing Director of Future Workshop 4.0.

Holding on to the tried and tested and plenty of new things

The centrepiece of the special show is the innovation laboratory in the indoor section: on 300 square metres, trade fair visitors can experience specific workshop applications up close and live. Large parts of the process chain of a workshop visit will be shown. Maier explains: “We have various companies and institutions such as Deutsche Automobil-Treuhand GmbH (DAT) and W. Gessmann GmbH on board with their solutions, which build on each other in terms of processes. Within the special show, we will be demonstrating all of this in application.”

For example, it will be possible to see how a vehicle drives through a scanner, which carries out an AI-supported condition diagnosis and feeds the interpreted information into the subsequent workshop processes. A particular highlight of the innovation lab will be a live demonstration of how robotic industrial trucks autonomously deliver the parts required for repairs from the warehouse.

The Academy Deutsches Kraftfahrzeuggewerbe (TAK) will also be presenting a vehicle with hydrogen technology and discussing the challenges of repair and maintenance. An eye-catcher is the McLaren from Partner Carbon, which will be showing its CBR system for modern body repairs. And the Institute of Automotive Technology (KTI) will be looking at professional and economical accident repairs using the example of concealed sensors as components of driver assistance systems.

In a separate second exhibition area, 14 companies, such as VEACT, Xolvis, IAV and Stahlwille, will present exciting future solutions for the workshop sector 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 or institutions will offer the public summarised information at each focus area.

The third component of the special show is the ZDK industry meeting point: a spacious area with, among other things, a web studio for live broadcasts of the trade fair events on the Internet will be the central point of contact for all Automechanika visitors. Every day at the fair, ZDK experts will provide information in dialogue with industry experts in 30-minute technical presentations on current topics such as the state-of-health assessment of traction batteries, SERMA, calibration of driver assistance systems, particle measurement, air conditioning hygiene, marketing for young talent and digital vehicle registration.

“The industry get-together is the point of contact for our companies and for all visitors interested in the sector who want to get the latest information first-hand and use the time to network,” says Detlef Peter Grün. On Thursday evening, 12 September, the industry is invited to the stand party. The detailed programme will soon be available online at automechanika.com/programm.