One of the Productronica highlights this year will be a special show focusing on self-organizing production environments.

In these Sopro environments small electronic units for data acquisition and communications can be connected and controlled by advanced software algorithms.

In effect, Sopro will demonstrate the future in manufacturing.

As can be guessed the factory of the future has been envisioned by German ingenuity.

A consortium of Fraunhofer Institutes and the Technical University of Berlin led by the Fraunhofer-Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology (IPK) have developed so-called process "e-grains", the key element in intelligent production.

At productronica, a demonstration of simulated processing stations will illustrate the principle of self-organizing production in the intelligent production process.

Process e-grains are small electronic cells which automatically communicate with one another and learn from one another.

For example, a machine equipped with an e-grain can inform conveyors and workpieces that an alternative system must be employed, if it is used to capacity or is out of order. The parts are then transported to another machine and report with their own e-grain which work has to be performed on them. Decisions that ensure the smooth running of the production process in a factory can therefore be taken within fractions of a second, is the official claim.

The Sopro project started in March 2008 and will run until February 28, 2011. It will then lead into a joint program with industrial partners from industry and research, whose main areas of interest in microsystems technology, information technology and production engineering is to create a totally intelligent factory.

As a project for the future it will probably yield results in about 20 years, thanks to e-grains.

We'll see!