Digital Transformation of Materials Science

The laboratory is the most important source of new data from experiments and measurements. Many procedures involve a great deal of work and require exact repetitions. We are therefore working on interlinked laboratory equipment and systems in order to automate work steps as far as possible. Work that, due to its complexity, can only be performed by employees is supported by partially automated documentation. At the same time, the focus is still on humans in orchestrating the complex overall process.

No matter from which source information originates or where it is further processed: For an efficient and smooth process, all actors must be networked with the same central information system. We are therefore developing a hybrid data platform that is equally suitable for humans and machines and links all data streams with each other. Along the way, researchers can use it to build semantic data spaces from connected knowledge elements and share them seamlessly with others.

Ontologies are formal descriptions of concepts similar to vocabularies. They can define complex machine-readable relationships and thus provide the basis for a close and uniform linkage of information in the data space. Ontologies are coordinated and continuously developed on an international level.

We are particularly active in ontology development in the area of batteries (BattINFO - Battery Interface Ontology, BVCO - Battery Value Chain Ontology), but we are also driving the development of general ontologies aligned with material development processes (GPO - General Process Ontology).