Top precision through artificial intelligence

摘要

TAKO - an intriguing word. But what does this cryptic term used at ThyssenKrupp Steel in Duisburg really mean? An attempt to unveil the secret takes us into a scientific world that was developed and implemented by U.S. researchers (such as John von Neumann and later Donald 0. Hebb and Marvin Minsky) exactly 61 years ago: Artificial neural networks. TAKO stands for "a combination of pickle and tandem mill." A rather dull phrase compared to the way in which neural networks increasingly mirror the function of human nerve cells. Neural networks are state-of-the-art computer programs. For the moment, however, software experts estimate that their actual performance still amounts to no more than that of a fly's brain. Still, "an analogy exists between human and technical comprehension in our TAKO processes in the context of the neural system," says Bert Freygang, engineer and head of operations for technology at ThyssenKrupp Steel's Duisburg plant in the automotive division. "Within the neural network, I consider the hard figures and the data that flow into the computer systems via the communication levels particularly relevant. The neural network has to process these signals and respond with specific signals." Dr. Karl-Ulrich Koehler, the chairman of the management board of ThyssenKrupp Stahl AG, summed up the key benefits at the inauguration of TAKO three years ago: "In process automation, artificial neural networks are used to complement mathe- matical models. This makes it possible to balance out influencing variables that are otherwise difficult to grasp, such as the current status of the mill. Before the start of operations, the neural networks were trained in the laboratory."