Machines develop a physical sense - and that starts with sensors. In the metal processing world of the future, they will take on the role of our human senses: they register forces, temperatures, vibrations or movements - similar to how we perceive heat, pressure or discomfort. However, as with humans, it is not always about immediate reaction. It is about recognizing states, perception, classification and decision. It's about body awareness - mechanically conceived.
Sensors as machine body awareness
Humans have an amazing ability: they usually know exactly how their body is feeling, where tensions are located and how strain feels. This fine sense of our own condition - often subconsciously - is called interoceptive perception. Machines also develop such a sense when sensor technology not only provides selective data, but also recognizes correlations and makes developments over time visible.
An example from research that is now becoming reality: The AI-supported Kausal Assist system from Schuster Maschinenbau uses sensor data to detect potential faults and makes recommendations based on this - before visible damage occurs. It is similar to a person's inner sensorium, which senses when a movement is no longer running smoothly or when a joint is about to be overloaded.
Feeling instead of just measuring
Modern sensor technology in mechanical engineering goes beyond mere measurement. It is about capturing the big picture. Not just the current temperature, but the temperature curve. Not just the vibration in one moment, but the change over days. Machines are given something like a “body memory” - comparable to the feeling in your back after a long week: not a single pain, but an overall condition that prompts action.
Sensor technology for a conscious machine life
Sensor technology supports sensitive, condition-oriented maintenance - similar to the attentive handling of one's own body. This includes:
- Condition Monitoring: machine conditions are continuously monitored, similar to the way a person senses that something is not working as usual.
- Needs-based lubrication: Instead of rigid intervals, maintenance is carried out when the machine body really needs it - like the targeted stretching of an overloaded muscle.
- Predictive Maintenance: The machine body signals at an early stage when wear is imminent - even before a breakdown is imminent.
Sensor technology as a bridge between feeling and analysis
Sensors make the condition of a machine not only visible, but tangible. They form the bridge between physical processes and digital interpretation. Professor Fleischer puts it in a nutshell: "Without sensors, any higher-level analysis would be blind - just as humans would have no access to the world without their senses”.
The art lies not in measuring everything, but in sensing the right thing. Just as humans do not pay attention to every tingling sensation, but learn to distinguish the important from the unimportant, machines should also only perceive where it is important. Sensor technology then does not mean stimulus - response, but mindfulness and intelligent machine awareness. We look forward to redefining the future of metal processing.
