The fifth session of the global course “Understanding AI and Robotics: Their Multi-Dimensional and Multi-Spatial Implications for the Public and Private Sector” was held on 19 June 2025. The session, titled “Smart Production in the Connected World,” offered deep insights into diverse fields, including medical technology, industrial manufacturing, product engineering, and aviation. Three eminent experts, Dipl.-Ing. David Ljuhar, founder of BRAINCON Technologies, Captain Rehan van Tonder, CEO of Shift Aviation Solutions and Dr. Sebastian Schlund, Head of the Institute of Production Engineering at TU Wien, provided practical insights and critical reflections on the challenges and opportunities of smart production.
Dipl. Ing. David Ljuhar explored the utilization of AI in enhancing healthcare diagnostics and preventing hospital-acquired infections. Based on his extensive experience in high-tech industries and medical engineering, Ljuhar elaborated on predictive AI diagnostics of bone-related disorders and AI-driven control strategies for preventing nosocomial infections. Using fractal dimension analysis for bone health assessment, his team proved that AI could accurately detect early abnormalities in bone structure, significantly before the onset of clinical symptoms. This led to broader applications of AI for diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, and eventually mammography, with AI systems detecting precancerous lesions up to three years ahead. Furthermore, Ljuhar addressed the pressing global issue of nosocomial infections, stating the dire need for AI-supported systems to aid hospitals in sterilization and containment. His team developed prediction algorithms equipped with convolutional neural networks to anticipate effective germ neutralization measures.
In another stimulating presentation, Captain Rehan Van Tonder explained the prominent role AI could play in revolutionizing the aviation industry. AI-driven innovations, such as real-time data-driven insights, streamlined passenger experiences through automation and predictive planning, and the potential of future single-pilot operations augmented by AI systems, were discussed. He argued that while the full replacement of human judgment with AI is still a distant reality, AI can substantially reduce human error and enhance efficiency.
Lastly, Dr. Sebastian Schlund focused on the integration of AI and robotics in production processes, particularly humanoid robots. With companies like Tesla and Boston Dynamics making significant strides in this field, Schlund stressed that the ultimate goal is not to replace human labour but to form balanced collaborations between humans and machines for desired productivity gains. While challenges such as high costs and physical hardware limitations persist within the robotics field, Schlund anticipates widespread industrial deployment of these humanoid robots in a realistic timeframe of approximately a decade.
The three experts’ presentations exhibited how AI and Robotics could be harnessed across diverse sectors for greater efficiency, safety, and innovation.
Source: https://www.apnnews.com/smart-production-in-the-connected-world/