Manufacturers head to Liverpool for largest ever Smart Factory Expo
More than 170 manufacturers and technology specialists are heading to Liverpool next week to take part in The Smart Factory Expo, part of the Digital Manufacturing Week festival which begins on November 14.
The city’s Exhibition Centre is expecting to attract more than 2,000 visitors keen to explore the latest breakthroughs in augmented reality, automation, robotics and IoT platforms.
Delegates can experience exciting and innovative technology that is shaping the future of the manufacturing industry and helping firms tackle energy costs, labour shortages and the move to sustainable production. They will enjoy world-first demonstrations, immersive experiences and hands-on opportunities delivered by companies with their finger firmly on the digital manufacturing pulse.
More than 1,000 different global manufacturing companies are already registered, representing more than 10% of the UK’s annual GDP. These include representatives from 3M, Airbus, Ball, Bentley, BMW, Caterpillar, Diageo, Dyson, Jaguar Land Rover, McLaren, Morrisons, Siemens, Sony, PepsiCo, Pfizer, Toyota, Reckitt and Unilever.
Some of the technologies on display include Industrial Metaverse, where, at the Deloitte stand visitors can virtually explore the company’s three Smart Factories hosted in the metaverse, discover its Smart Factory network and the latest augmented reality tool.
Microsoft will be showcasing the industrial metaverse and its world changing potential. Visitors can try the mixed reality/augmented reality HoloLens headsets first hand and discover how this technology is enabling engineers to collaborate virtually on projects and designs in real time, without needing to travel and rack up unnecessary carbon emissions.
Also, there will be robots and cobots showing the simplicity and versatility of automation. Omron will highlight how automation journeys can begin with the simplest of elements by showing a cobot picking and placing an item onto an AMR (autonomous mobile robot) and then unloading it when it returns.
And the Porsche company will be showcasing ‘The Best Car Configurator’ on the planet created in conjunction with supercar manufacturer Pagani.
Grace Gilling, spokesperson for the organisers, said: “There will be so much innovation on display at this year’s event, that it’s impossible to list it all. However, one thing I’m particularly looking forward to is Microsoft’s showcase of the game changing Industrial Metaverse and how augmented reality, plus HoloLens, enables engineers to collaborate on projects without needing to be physically together.
“This is something incredible I remember from science fiction movies not so long ago, now it’s reality.”
Attendees to the Smart Factory Expo will also be able to visit the Made Smarter Innovation Alley and Innovation Village. The former is a dedicated start-up corridor brimming with entrepreneurial energy and 60 start-up businesses that are set to change the landscape of manufacturing in the next five years.
The latter sees the coming together of all seven High Value Manufacturing Catapult Centres, for the first time, and will focus on how companies can move away from their reliance on fossil fuels and embrace renewable sources of energy instead.
