Garage 4.0
High tech meets repair shops.
Digital vehicle scan
High-resolution cameras plus Radar, Lidar, and ultrasonic sensors scan the vehicle. AI tools identify damage or discrepancies compared to the required state, for instance concerning tire tread.
Benefit: Suitable also for post-repair quality inspections. Duration: less than one minute.
Additive manufacturing
3D printing is a key component of modern, digitally connected garage processes, enabling the production of spare parts and specialty tools directly on site.
Benefit: Eliminates supply chains – ideally suited for urgent repairs. Tailored parts precisely fit a use case – that’s particularly attractive for work on classic or vintage cars or for specialty conversions. Spare parts don’t need to be stored physically but only as a digital file. Saves space and costs.
Virtual and Augmented Reality
Digital information such as repair manuals is inserted directly into the field of vision of garage workers.
Benefit: Technical crews view all relevant information directly in front of them without having to switch between monitors, papers, and the vehicle. Saves time when performing complex repairs.
Predictive maintenance
An AI system monitors the vehicle’s condition, projects when components will become defective in the future, and reports this to the garage at an early stage.
Benefit: The garage can systematically intervene before breakdowns occur.
Humanoid robot
The digital colleague optimizes workflow in a variety of areas, welcoming customers, pointing the way to the service team, or offering snacks. When the customer picks up their car the robot accepts payments and shows where the car is parked. The robotic colleague can be linked with garage management systems to tick off checklists or check the status of work orders.
Benefit: More time for personal customer conversations.
Autonomous driving
Autonomous vehicles move around the garage premises independently, for instance to drive to a charging column or into a car wash after the repair.
Benefit: There’s no need for time-intensive maneuvering jobs or use of seat and steering wheel covers.
Smart Repair
Smart Repair techniques are a specialized method for low-cost repairs of scratches, dents, and minor cabin damage. At car dealerships, Smart Repair has already been integrated in garage operations today.
Benefit: Time, material, and cost savings because only the area concerned is worked on without removal of larger vehicle parts.
Schaeffler collaborates with Zukunftswerkstatt 4.0
Zukunftswerkstatt 4.0 (Future Garage 4.0) is an innovation showcase and training center in Esslingen near Stuttgart, Germany, covering the entire value chain from the sale of a vehicle to the spare parts/aftermarket. More than 130 partners from the automotive industry including Schaeffler’s Vehicle Lifetime Solutions Division, other original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) suppliers as well as larger and smaller companies use this platform to connect with each other. At regular intervals, new and innovative repair solutions are presented in Esslingen.
Motion technology company Schaeffler is expecting its partnership with Zukunftswerkstatt 4.0 to enable the company to provide new impetus in the transformation process of the automotive industry. Schaeffler itself is driving change with a variety of products and services. Under the service brand REPXPERT, Vehicle Lifetime Solutions offers technical training programs, a service hotline, repair manuals, and various solutions – from digitalization of connected garage processes to electrification of the powertrain to sustainable mobility ecosystems.
Further details on the Future Workshop 4.0 can be found here. (German)
360-degree-connectivity
Connected garage
Digital interfaces enable continuous data exchange between garage software, diagnostic equipment, OEM systems, spare parts logistics, customer portals, etc.
Benefit: Information flow is seamless and up to date – ideally suited for diagnostics, maintenance, and tracing. No more manual data input – job orders, diagnoses, or spare part numbers are automatically migrated. Availability and spart part prices are queried live.
Over-the-air technology
Enables communication and exchange of data packages between a vehicle and the car dealership’s operations without the vehicle having to be on site at a garage.
Benefit: Data help prepare appointments because diagnostics and defect search are performed over-the-air in advance. Maintenance and repair of the vehicle are optimized.
Chatbots
Handle booking of appointments and answer routine questions.
Benefit: Employees have more time for more complex jobs.
Digital customer file
All vehicle and customer data are centrally stored and can be accessed from various workstations using mobile devices.
Benefit: Less paperwork, fewer questions, fewer misunderstandings.
Video advice
Customer consultants show the customer defects on the vehicle using video footage.
Benefit: No need for the customer to visit the garage.
3 questions for…
… Edith Pisching, Head of Zukunftswerkstatt 4.0
What does Zukunftswerkstatt 4.0 do?
Zukunftswerkstatt 4.0 is an innovation laboratory for the mobility sector – specifically for garages and car dealerships. Our aim is to make forward-looking topics tangible. Here, we show how new technologies, digital tools, and alternative powertrains work specifically in day-to-day garage settings. We work closely together with partners like Schaeffler that contribute their developments and expertise. For visitors, that’s a unique opportunity to get to know technologies not only theoretically but to experience them live and to try them out themselves.
What products are particularly important for the garages of the future?
We’re currently seeing four major technology fields that are massively changing routine garage operations. The first one is alternative powertrain technologies. Synthetic fuels, high-voltage systems, hybrid solutions, hydrogen powertrains, and fuel cells – all that calls for new knowledge and new safety standards. Gas-powered (CNG/LPG) vehicles play a role as well. Garages must be prepared for safely servicing and repairing these systems. The second field is connectivity. Vehicles, today, are permanently connected. Functions like over-the-air diagnostics, predictive maintenance, or car-to-x communication change garage processes. Instead of classic troubleshooting, analysis of vehicle data is increasingly the focus of attention. OBD dongles, LTE modules, and digital service updates have become routine. The third field is automated driving functions. Systems such as Lidar, Radar, cameras, and ultrasound require new diagnostic methods. At the same time, garage employees need to have a better understanding of sensor systems, actuators, and artificial intelligence that controls all those systems. The fourth field is the digitalization of the garage itself. Virtual and augmented reality, holograms, iBeacons or humanoid robots change the way in which consulting, service, and training programs are run. Digitalization not only applies to technology in this regard but also to the interaction with customers.
How does the collaboration with companies like Schaeffler benefit Zukunftswerkstatt 4.0?
Collaborative partnerships with companies like Schaeffler are essential. They provide specific applications and the latest technologies – from AR technologies to mainframe architectures. In that way, we create a realistic learning and experience environment. At the same time, the partners benefit from receiving direct feedback from the field. In the end, it’s about not leaving garages out in the cold but providing them with knowledge, technology, and perspectives because the future will not arrive someday – it already has.
