growING research project – resilient specification of requirements in mechanical and plant engineering

growING – A research project for integrated collaboration and digital twins

In an increasingly dynamic world, in which technical and economic requirements are subject to rapid change, the growING research project is dedicated to the question of how mechanical and plant engineering companies can work together more resiliently and efficiently. The focus is on the development of digital twins and innovative tools for the specification and coordination of projects. The aim is to shorten time-to-market while increasing the quality and flexibility of projects.

Duration and participants

The project will run from November 2024 to January 2027 and is supported by a strong consortium of seven partners. These include various Bosch divisions (BCI, BD, CR, EM, VM), the University of Stuttgart, SimPlan, Flexis, Klotz, and Ruhlamat.

Content and objectives

The project has several core objectives:

Resilient requirements specification: Conventional specifications are to be replaced by dynamic, data-based approaches in order to be able to react flexibly to changes.
Optimisation of the time-to-market: Through improved coordination between internal and external partners, the time-to-market is to be shortened without compromising plant quality.
Development of data room-based tools: Based on the developed concepts, user-friendly software solutions are created that integrate and simplify complex processes in mechanical engineering.

Focus of SimPlan

As an expert in simulation technology and digital twins, SimPlan focuses on:

integrating logistics, material flow and value stream simulation into the engineering workflow,
using existing standards such as AAS, AML and EDC for data integration,
implementing a demonstrator for integration with Plant Simulation and Emulate3D,
using Large Language Models (LLMs) to support simulations.

Demonstration and practical relevance

The developed tools and concepts will be tested and evaluated in the Stuttgart machine factory and the ARENA2036. The aim is to demonstrate the theoretical approaches under real-life conditions and thus prove their practical suitability.

The growING project will thus make an important contribution to the digital transformation and modernisation of mechanical engineering and strengthen the innovative capacity of all partners.