Robotics, Digitalization, and Industry 4.0: Schaeffler Strengthens Innovation Network for Emerging Technologies

Uwe Wagner, Chief Technology Officer of Schaeffler AG and Andreas Schick, Chief Operating Officer of Schaeffler AG, (rear, from left) opened the new laboratory at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore together with Dharmesh Arora, Regional CEO Asia/Pacific at Schaeffler, Dr. Norbert Riedel, German Ambassador to Singapore, Prof. Subra Suresh, President of the NTU and Prof. Lam Khin Yong, Vice President (Research) of the NTU (front, from left).

Schaeffler opens new laboratory at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Laboratory to develop innovative solutions in three technology areas of strategic importance: robotics, digitalization, and Industry 4.0

Schaeffler Hubs for Advanced Research (SHARE) already in operation at five leading universities worldwide

The Schaeffler Group is a leading global bearings supplier to the automotive and industrial sectors.

Schaeffler is strengthening its research activities with the opening of a new laboratory at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. This expands the automotive and industrial supplier’s involvement at NTU, which began in 2016 with the establishment of an innovation center for urban mobility. Schaeffler employees are partnering at the new laboratory with NTU researchers, doctoral candidates and students to undertake research in pioneering areas of robotics, digitalization, and Industry 4.0 under the SHARE (Schaeffler Hubs for Advanced Research) program. “The SHARE program is an important part of our Roadmap 2025,” said Uwe Wagner, Chief Technology Officer of Schaeffler AG. “By combining our pioneering spirit with external viewpoints in an agile environment, it plays a key role in successfully completing research projects and reducing the time it takes to get products to market. In response to the rise of autonomous production, we will, for example, be offering our customers innovative mechatronic systems for the fast-growing robotics market – an area in which the new laboratory will significantly enhance our ability to innovate.” Specifically, the new lab at NTU is conducting research in industry-focused projects in the areas of collaborative robotics, autonomous mobile robot (AMR) platforms, and IoT for smart factories. Schaeffler already offers its customers innovative solutions in these areas of technology. Examples include high-performance precision actuators for robotic arms, and the IoT solution OPTIME, which makes comprehensive condition monitoring of production machines efficient and cost-effective.

SHARE network spans the globe
Since its inception in 2013, the SHARE network has become an important part of Schaeffler’s R&D landscape. It already has locations at five leading universities worldwide – in Europe, Asia/Pacific, China, and America. The purpose of the SHARE network is to expand the current state of the art and transfer the new insights gained to Schaeffler’s product development activities. Each SHARE focuses on a particular technology area of strategic importance for the future. “Having a presence right on the university campus fosters high-power knowledge sharing and close collaboration between Schaeffler employees and university scientists,” said Prof. Dr.-Ing. Tim Hosenfeldt, Senior Vice President of Research and Innovation and Corporate Technology of Schaeffler AG. “Our SHARE program gives us a strong focus on applied research in areas of technology that feed into our strategic roadmap – in both the automotive and industrial parts of our business.”