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Ready Steady Go: ctrlX developR Challenge is starting

Person with headset sits at the PC and makes a Victory sign into the camera. The monitor shows the ctrlX AUTOMATION microsite.

How does a production facility ensure that every pack of cheese weighs the same in spite of the holes in the cheese slices? With ctrlX AUTOMATION, this and a great deal more is possible. With its automation toolbox, Bosch Rexroth is present in numerous sectors and aims to provide significant benefits for target groups. From now on, ambitious developers can help to shape ctrlX AUTOMATION through the international ctrlX developR Challenge. The challenge is now under way: Numerous innovative ideas have been received, the participants have been selected and the critical phase is now beginning.

With the ctrlX developR Challenge, Bosch Rexroth is encouraging innovations from users as well as co-creation for its ctrlX AUTOMATION toolbox. “The aim of our competition is to bring together the biggest talents with the most versatile, open and powerful automation system available on the market. We were surprised by the great interest in the challenge and, above all, by the creativity of those who applied to join our project,” said jury member Rolf Najork, Member of the Board of Management of Robert Bosch GmbH.

The jury chose the best 25 ideas from the 68 entries received from all over the world. The participants can now realize their vision with the ctrlX CORE control platform.

Five categories – numerous visions

The entrants have set the bar high. They could submit their proposals in one of five categories “Simplify engineering”, “Extend and connect”, “Smarten up automation”, “Empower the user” and “Create your own”. “Extend and connect” and “Smarten up automation” proved particularly popular.

“Using ctrlX CORE to control a greenhouse with an aquaponics installation – that’s the idea! Users should be able to use and operate the entire set-up easily and intuitively. It should be possible to operate the various systems such as ventilation, watering and fish feeding via a simple interface – even from a remote location.”  One developer submitted this creative project in the “Create your own” category.

Another entrant suggested improving record presses. After all, they are still as they were in the 1960s in many factories. Vinyl records are extremely high-precision products, with the groove modulations for high frequencies measuring just nanometers. In the past, experienced production workers set and adjusted machines manually. With ctrlX CORE, it should now be possible to do this automatically using cutting-edge technology.

Pursuing innovation together

The aim of the ctrlX developR Challenge is to apply this and other ideas from software developers in practice and to encourage partnerships and innovations. After all, ctrlX AUTOMATION is as open and creative as the participants themselves.

In order to help developers to use ctrlX CORE as effectively as possible, they are supported not only by their mentors from Bosch Rexroth but also by ctrlX World partner companies. ctrlX CORE is an ultra-compact control system and has been setting standards in the automation market since its launch in 2019.

“Yes, this little thing can be used in any factory in the future,” Céline Flores Willers, influencer and brand ambassador for Bosch Rexroth, told her fans. In 2018 and 2019, she was named a LinkedIn Top Voice for her articles on innovation, entrepreneurship and future trends. Over 100,000 professionals now follow her and can keep track of the next steps in the ctrlX developR Challenge via her LinkedIn channel.

But what will the next steps involve? The 25 participants from the countries Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, Great Britain and the United States have time until the end of June 2022 to put their ideas into practice. After that, the finalists will be selected. They will then have the opportunity to impress during a pitch event and convince the jury during a live presentation. The jury will assess the ideas the use of technical methods, the market potential and other factors. Until then, it remains to be seen who will develop the most convincing code!


Stay tuned – you will find regular updates on the ctrlX developR Challenge here!

 

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Portrait view of Jasmin Heim, Game Changer Marketing

Jasmin Heim

Game Changer
Marketing

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