To keep pace with the accelerated development of specialty glass applications, such as Touch-Screens, Augmented Reality, Cooking on Glass Ceramics Cooktops, Pharmaceutical Packaging, and (Opto-)Electronics, the corresponding functional glasses require continuous adjustment and optimization. Additional „market pull“ for novel specialty glasses comes from the emerging necessity to substitute environmentally harmful plastics.

Comprehensive digitalization will enable short development loops and fast adjustments in production. Besides considering product specifications, it will also consider raw material supply including recycled specialty glasses provided by a highly selective recycling procedure. For this purpose, a software agent („GLASAGENT“) will be introduced to organize the automated synthesis and analysis of test glasses, as well as the simulation of glass processing and properties in a digital twin.

To reach that goal, numerous innovations will be necessary besides the “GLASAGENT” itself, including a glass ontology, the automation of laboratory and test melting equipment, including inline measurements at a later stage, as well as the highly selective recycling procedure.

The “GLASAGENT” project leverages the preceding BMBF-funded project “GlasDigital”, particularly in terms of glass ontology, digital twin, and test melt automation.