Remanufacturing– the industrial repair and reuse of items and components– is deemed an important foundation for a resource-efficient and climate-friendly economy. The difficulty, nevertheless, lies in the reality that end-of-life devices are frequently returned in highly differing states. This demands flexible procedures for the diagnosis, disassembly, repair and reuse of such material. To this end, the researchers taking part in the RESURRECTION task will develop a detailed modular system that combines expert system, robotics and digital technologies.
“If we wish to accomplish a real circular economy, we need to keep items in the value production cycle for much longer,” says Dr. René Wöstmann, who together with Teacher Jochen Deuse heads the Institute of Production Systems (IPS) at TU Dortmund University. “To do this, business require smart and flexible services that automatically examine the state of returned items, derive appropriate refurbishment methods and enable people and robotic systems to collaborate in the best possible method. With RESURRECTION, we are creating the technological basis for cost-efficient and scalable remanufacturing.”