Rutronik buys into its AI supplier
German distributor Rutronik Elektronische Bauelemente has bought a 30 per cent stake in its AI and machine vision technology supplier, collective mind GmbH.
The deal will add the collective mind automated image processing to the components Rutronik distributes for industrial AI applications. Last year the company set up a specialist division for boards, opening up the opportunity to add the AI tool.
Rutronik has been using the machine vision technology in a pilot project to optimize its distribution supply chain and provide traceability. The distributor has over 100,000 electronic components and the associated variable capture data, is suited as a use case for testing this development.
The aim of the two companies is that the developed logistics AI application will able to automatically and correctly recognize the information, even if the formats and arrangements of the product data on the corresponding product labels change, without having to adapt the software. The first pilot of the development is already running at Rutronik’s largest logistics centre in Eisingen near Pforzheim, Germany.
As a distributor for many SMEs in Germany, Europe and beyond, Rutronik aims to play a pioneering role with this investment to help improve efficiency and productivity.
collective mind was set up in Leonberg, Germany, in 2018 with a focus on machine vision and was the first company in Germany to develop a certified security system based on camera-based object and sequence recognition.
In addition to the logistics and consulting expertise of many different companies, Rutronik primarily contributes hardware expertise at the product level of electronic components. Together with collective mind’s software expertise in AI-based image processing methods, this is already being tested in practical scenarios such as logistics and shipping.
“The trend is towards complete embedded solutions with powerful, compact hardware for compute-intensive AI applications,” says Fabian Plentz, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Rutronik, explaining this strategic step of the company. “The integration of hardware and software is often a major challenge, as it cannot be offered from a single source. Through our investment in collective mind, we can now offer this on the market for the first time and hopefully gain the decisive advantage for our current customers and future business partners,” continues Plentz.
“We are joining forces with Rutronik with the aim of offering internationally scalable software and hardware solutions developed from a single source for AI applications in retail and industry, among others, based on the regional ties between our two companies,” says Artur Hefner, one of the Managing Directors of collective mind with a focus on operations and finance. Specifically, collective mind aims to become the international number one for these AI solutions in the field of machine vision applications in industry and trade, with the expertise of Rutronik as a long-standing distribution partner of many medium-sized companies in Europe, Asia, and North America.
“We have ambitious goals, but our first joint project successes speak for very promising AI-based logistics solutions,” continues Armin Bär, Managing Director of collective mind, with a focus on sales. Joshua Raabe, Managing Director for technology at collective mind, outlines the medium-term plans of the AI specialist: “We are pushing ahead with major growth potential with related development projects in the industrial environment, especially in the field of vision robotics.”
“Especially in these difficult economic times, we want to send a signal from southwest Germany to decision-makers and other entrepreneurs in Germany and Europe. We want to encourage them to tackle the economic upturn together by focusing on strategically considered investments and by joining forces,” says Thomas Rudel, CEO of Rutronik.