Fraunhofer IOSB launches data‑room workshops and showcases future industrial data spaces

Fraunhofer IOSB announced that its research factories in Karlsruhe and Lemgo will operate as "data‑room workshops" for small and medium‑sized enterprises. The facilities combine real‑world production environments, open Industry 4.0 standards and AI engineering, offering test fields, a continuous IT/OT infrastructure, instrumentation and a standardized data platform suitable for datathons, hackathons and AI‑model training.

At Hannover Messe 2026 the institute presented its vision for industrial data spaces that enable resilient, resource‑efficient value creation. Its Supply Chain Services unit contributes three core competencies: building semantically interoperable data‑room architectures, developing AI applications that run inside these structures, and applying the infrastructures to circular‑economy scenarios. Highlighted projects include:

• Antrieb 4.0 – a federated data space for electric drive systems built on Gaia‑X principles, using linked data and Solid technology to ensure semantic interoperability and to provide real‑time digital‑twin visualisations for energy‑efficient design and asset management.

• Semiconductor‑X – a Gaia‑X and Catena‑X‑compliant data‑sovereign semiconductor supply‑chain space where AI algorithms analyse Asset Administration Shell data to improve production planning, inventory control and quality forecasting.

The initiatives are linked to broader networks such as Catena‑X, Factory‑X, Transfer‑X, IDSA, IDTA, the OPC Foundation and the KI‑Allianz Baden‑Württemberg. A discussion paper describing the data‑room workshop concept is available on the Fraunhofer IOSB website.