Interview with Katarina Mehringer, Krones Innovation Lab

Katarina Mehringer is head of the Krones Innovation Lab at the TechBase in Regensburg.

The Krones Innovation Lab serves as an innovative platform for testing new technologies and digital business models and transferring the results to Krones AG. In interdisciplinary project teams, the latest trends from research and science are examined and developed into prototypes.

As the operator of the Innovation Lab, Krones is working on the implementation of AI use cases to optimize the operation of filling systems.

Question 1: Which company do you work for and what position do you hold there?

I manage the Krones Innovation Lab at TechBase Regensburg.

Question 2: What are your main tasks that you will take on in this position?

Our Krones Innovation Lab serves as an innovative platform for testing new technologies and digital business models and transferring the results to Krones AG. In interdisciplinary project teams, the latest trends from research and science are examined and developed into prototypes.

Question 3: "Knowledge creates² data" is a cross-faculty project at the University of Regensburg. It combines research efforts in the areas of big data, artificial intelligence and machine learning. How do your areas of responsibility relate to AI? Please describe this relationship to us. (Please give us example topics / tasks)

As the operator of the Innovation Lab, Krones is working on the implementation of AI use cases to optimize the operation of filling systems.

Question 4: How can you describe your collaboration with the University of Regensburg? Do you give lectures on specific topics, do you give students practical insights into your company or do you support the university in other ways?

Our cooperation with the University of Regensburg is very broad. From the supervision of project work to joint development cooperation, everything is included.

Question 5: Building on this, what are the advantages for your company?

Due to the close contact with the University of Regensburg, we always stay up to date with the latest research and have access to new talents

Question 6: Why do you think it makes sense to convey AI-related topics to students?

For us, AI is one of the key technologies and the area of application is growing ever larger. That’s why students need to be trained and educated in this area.

Question 7: You are also involved in research with your company. What are you currently doing here?

Our focus is on applied AI.

Question 8: Have you already done research on topics that are related to AI? If so, can you give us an example?

No, because the focus is on applied AI.

Question 9: Now a question about your personal career. What experience do you have in the field of AI? And how did you get your knowledge of AI? (Ex .: training, self-study, etc.)

I am an industrial engineer with a focus on mechanical engineering. I have acquired my knowledge in the field of AI internally through many online courses and working on research projects.

Question 10: Do you personally find it easy or difficult to deal with topics that are related to AI?

That depends a lot on the topic. I love to familiarize myself with challenging topics, which is why it has always worked in the end.

Question 11: What exactly is it that interests / fascinates you particularly about such topics?

Personally, I find it fascinating how predictions for the future can be made by analyzing data and thus errors can be avoided. The interaction between mechanics e.g. Robotics and AI are very interesting to me

Question 12: Are there currently projects on which you are collaborating with other companies across companies? If so, can you give us an example of this? And how is the connection to be assessed?

Yes, we are working on some cooperation projects with other companies, for example on the subject of data-driven process optimization with the help of machine learning in the beverage industry. We are also part of the AI initiative of the city of Regensburg AIR (Applied Artificial Intelligence in Regensburg).

Question 13: What is your ideal vision for the future role of AI in higher education? What could be the biggest change in the future compared to the status quo?

AI must not just be emptied as a single discipline. AI has an impact on all areas of higher education and should therefore be at least addressed in every technical course.

Question 14: How do you feel about the “Knowledge creates2 data” project at the University of Regensburg? How do you contribute to the projects?

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Question 15: In your opinion, are there any other aspects that you consider important in this context and that were not addressed in this interview?

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Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions. We wish you a nice day!

Interview with Katarina Mehringer, Krones Innovation Lab

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