Since 2014 we have been working consistently with several promising start-ups that benefit from Festo’s industry expertise. Our collaborations focus particularly on technologies and solutions that can be used in our products and services to create added value for our customers or make our processes more efficient.
Start-up pitches at Festo
We therefore have regular start-up pitches for specific areas of technical research as well as for processes and procedures. The start-ups that are invited to pitch their ideas can then discuss the challenges and possible solutions directly with the departments and explore the options for collaboration.
Our programmes:
Gründermotor
Festo is a member of the Gründermotor start-up initiative
The Gründermotor initiative is the decentralised innovation platform for Baden-Württemberg, designed to lay the foundations for the digital SMEs of the future. To achieve this, the initiative works closely with several colleges and universities across Baden-Württemberg. Innovative start-ups are given access to a premium network of experienced mentors, well-known investors and partners from science and business.
M.Tech Accelerator
Festo is a partner to M.Tech Accelerator – Engineering the Future of Mobility
M.Tech Accelerator is a key platform for technology start-ups in the south of Germany, providing new ideas for the development of the Stuttgart region as a centre of engineering and mobility. The programme is supported by the state capital Stuttgart, bwcon GmbH, TTI GmbH, wizemann space and the Stuttgart Region Economic Development Corporation. After the application phase, 25 start-ups are accepted to the accelerator programme and are supported over a full 12-month period. M.Tech Accelerator supports individuals and start-up teams who are in the pre-founding or founding phase and have innovative products or business models in the areas of mobility, manufacturing and engineering.
startup2mittelstand
Festo is a partner company of startup2mittelstand
We have joined forces with other SMEs to find intelligent solutions with a focus on optimising and digitalising business processes and supporting this through new technologies – for example in the areas of purchasing, HR or for our plants. The companies involved in the "startup2mittelstand" (start-up to SME) initiative are more successful together in identifying and evaluating start-up solutions and are also more appealing to the start-ups.
TechFounders
Festo is part of the TechFounders accelerator programme
The TechFounders accelerator is a 20-week programme during which technology start-ups are brought together with strong partners from industry. With the help of various mentors and their networks, the start-ups prepare a business idea with the aim of implementing initial applications in the form of pilot projects. In addition to Festo, other companies including BMW, Bosch, Linde and Miele are also involved in the accelerator programme.
Example of collaborations:
aucobo
The Stuttgart-based start-up aucobo has its sights set on simple networking of various interfaces, devices and machines. The two-person start-up team began working on this in early 2016. Their smart systems, such as a smartwatch, make it easy for information to be exchanged between employees and machines. This means that production workflows are networked very efficiently.
Pilot project at Festo
The mobile machine operation solution is already in use at the Scharnhausen Technology Plant. The production workers can use the smartwatch to make flexible adjustments, and changes in status or faults on machines are sent directly to the workers via the smartwatch. They can also use it to request support from other systems. The solution increases machine availability and reduces unnecessary movement of employees around the production facility.
More about aucobo
Holo-Light
The Austrian software developer Holo-Light focuses on Industry 4.0 solutions with augmented reality devices such as the Microsoft HoloLens. Users of these devices can digitally enhance their real environment with additional information. Holo-Light develops intuitively operated mixed-reality software products for a wide range of industrial applications, such as smart glasses for use in production or at trade fairs. The start-up was founded in April 2015.
Pilot project at Festo
Festo is testing the HoloLens smart glasses for the first time as part of a pilot project at the Rohrbach plant. The technology supports workers with typical, repetitive processes, for example during training. Instead of working at the machine itself in the plant, the assembly process is projected in a training room via the smart glasses.
With the help of holographic images and verbal instructions, the operating sequences, including all of the necessary details, can be taught virtually, step by step. Workers can practise assembly processes, become familiar with products and receive important conduct and safety training via the smart glasses, without interrupting the flow of production. The HoloLens therefore helps to save time and costs and contributes to well-trained employees.
More about Holo-Light
realworld one
realworld one is a global provider of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). It serves customers in the fields of life sciences, analytics and diagnostics, as well as the pharmaceutical and chemical industry and process technology. It offers a systematic approach to the implementation of VR and AR in sales, marketing, service, support and production. realworld one currently has more than 200 employees, including at the corporate head office in Freiburg im Breisgau and in four other branches.
(Pilot) projects at Festo
The Scharnhausen Technology Plant introduced VR for system procurement back in 2017 to optimise the procurement process for new systems. VR has since become an important part of many other processes, including some collaborative projects. For example, VR is used in assembly system planning to gather feedback from staff at an early stage and optimise the assembly and workplace layouts. This means that new manual workstations or machines can be comprehensively, and above all realistically, analysed and optimised when still in the design and planning phase. A virtual experience of future assembly systems also reduces costs for subsequent changes and training procedures and significantly improves the speed of work, ergonomics and employee satisfaction.
Go to the realworld one website
V-INDUSTRY
The sharing economy has reached industry: V-INDUSTRY enables third-party production to be commissioned cost-effectively and transparently. The V-INDUSTRY platform makes it quick and easy to find suitable machines for a production order, as well as available machine capacities. The start-up from Ostfildern thus optimises the commissioning of contract manufacturers and sustainably streamlines administrative processes in the value stream.
Pilot project at Festo
The V-INDUSTRY platform is used in Festo’s equipment production facilities in Scharnhausen. With the help of the tool, orders can be placed more quickly and more flexibly. These steps can now be automated and made more efficient: V-INDUSTRY has a holistic vision of digitalisation and Industry 4.0, which results in significant potential for optimisation in administrative processes.