At the OPEN Community's first Hyper Pitch Day, inIT impressed with its project ‘PLC-as-a-Service – Web browser-integrated cloud control systems for solution finding in mechanical and plant engineering’, which was presented by institute director Prof. Dr. Henning Trsek. The project received funding and, at the same time, inIT was accepted as an official member of the community.
Hyper Pitch Day in Esslingen
On 22 July 2025, representatives from industry and science met at the Festo Academy in Esslingen for the OPEN Community's first Hyper Pitch Day. The OPEN Community is funded as part of the DATIpilot programme of the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) and brings together companies, research institutions and other stakeholders to jointly develop technological and social innovations.
The all-day event offered a varied programme with a keynote speech by Dr Oliver Niese on the topic of ‘Industrial Intelligence – Democratising AI to improve OEE’ and two pitch rounds with a total of ten project presentations. Participants used the day to exchange ideas on the projects, common topics and possible points of contact. In the afternoon, the jury announced the projects that would receive funding, including ‘PLC-as-a-Service’.
PLC-as-a-Service: Focus on innovative control technology
The ‘PLC-as-a-Service’ project is being implemented by the ‘Interconnected Automation Systems’ research group headed by Prof. Dr. Henning Trsek. The aim is to integrate virtual control technology into automation projects at an early stage of the design phase. The core idea is to extract behaviour models and skills from administration shells (AAS) and execute them in virtual control systems. Open interfaces based on OPC UA FX enable a seamless transition from virtual to real systems, thereby increasing efficiency from concept to implementation.
In addition to inIT, the companies Emerson, Siemens and Geminiware as well as the associated partner Festo are involved. Together, they will develop a cross-manufacturer solution over the next twelve months and, among other things, aim to implement a demonstrator for automated control generation.
Membership in the OPEN Community
With the jury's positive decision, the project not only receives funding, but inIT also becomes an official member of the OPEN Community.
‘The day offered many interesting insights and perspectives, especially on the topic of digital twins. We are very pleased about our membership in the community. This is a great benefit – not only for my research group, but for the entire institute,’ said Prof. Dr. Henning Trsek.