Starting in October 2020, an international group of researchers will investigate how the Internet of Things can make supply chains more efficient and secure. The Barkhausen Institute is playing a key role in the iNGENIOUS project.

Today, the manufacturing and delivery of all kinds of products often requires huge, highly interconnected supply chains. The more complex a product is, the larger is the supply chain behind it. The Corona crisis has shown how vulnerable these supply chains can be.

The next generation of the Internet of Things can make the management of complex supply processes more predictable and less prone to error in the future. The EU-funded project iNGENIOUS (Next-GENERATION IoT sOlutions for the Universal Supply Chain) was set up to drive this development forward. In this multinational project with 21 partners from industry and research, the Barkhausen Institute will take over the technical coordination from October 2020.

The aim of the project is to use innovative technologies to propose both technical and business solutions in order to ultimately build a complete platform for supply chain management. Many companies have already recognized in recent years the opportunities offered by the Internet of Things. They are now moving towards the complete digitalization of their supply chains. To enable these companies to make their production and transport routes more efficient and secure in the future, they will use highly developed technologies. The technology research of the individual partners is focused on 6 application cases. For example, satellite connections and the modern, high-performance 5G communications standard make global supply chains verifiable. New mechanisms of artificial intelligence also enable more precise predictions for process automation and plant management than conventional systems.

For all its innovation, iNGENIOUS focuses primarily on security. The Barkhausen Institute therefore not only acts as technical manager in the Europe-wide project, but also contributes its special operating system platform. This platform provides maximum security which is based on security by design and isolation from the outset.  With this platform, neuromorphic sensors, inspired by the human brain, can be installed in logistics vehicles, which are connected to a central early warning system in a safe and energy-efficient way. Defects in the vehicles can thus be detected and eliminated at an early stage. The supply chain is not interrupted.

The project is part of the vision of the 5G Infrastructure Association (5G IA) and the Alliance for Internet of Things Innovation (AIOTI) to strengthen smart manufacturing and smart mobility. The EU supports iNGENIOUS with a total of eight million euros through the research and innovation program Horizon 2020. Over the next three years, the partners, including three telecommunications providers and manufacturers, two network operators, four logistics partners, two universities, three research institutes and seven high-tech companies, will contribute their expertise to the project.