Joint project of the Master's program "Business Informatics with a focus on data science & Consulting" of the Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society (HWG LU) and the Ludwigshafen City Library is nearing a successful degree.
Third-semester students on the Master's degree program "Information Systems with a focus on Data Science & Consulting" at Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society (HWG LU) have programmed the humanoid robot NAO for use in the city library as part of a cooperation project with Ludwigshafen City Library. In future, it will be able to answer visitors' questions about the library's collection and the location of the media they are looking for. This is made possible by the core of the programming: an interface via which NAO can communicate with the library system and exchange data - while maintaining data protection.
The use of a humanoid robot as an intelligent library assistant for users could change library work and thus act as a prototype for other libraries. NAO not only expands the service of the Ludwigshafen City Library, but also provides library visitors with low-threshold access to technology and artificial intelligence.
On Tuesday, December 19, 2023, NAO was presented by the students as part of their final presentation in the Makerspace at Ludwigshafen City Library. Project manager Prof. Dr. Frank Thomé concluded with an all-round positive assessment: "In this collaborative project, our students have combined humanoid robotics with artificial intelligence in an innovative way and shown how modern information technology can change the library sector. We are extremely pleased with the results of the project and are delighted to have developed a pioneering assistance solution for Ludwigshafen City Library." "Our team appreciates the opportunity to gain practical experience through this challenging project and to expand our network in the city and the economy. The combination of artificial intelligence and humanoid robotics is not only proving to be a technological innovation, but is actually creating tangible added value for the citizens of our city," said Benedikt Lüth, summing up the students' perspective.
Those involved in the project at the city library were also very satisfied with the collaboration and the result: "The students did an excellent job and got our NAO up and running in no time at all! We are delighted that it can finally be used and are very excited to see how our users will react to it. The cooperation with the university is very valuable for us and has helped us to turn our vision of an innovative library into reality," said Tanja Weißmann, Head of the City Library, and her colleague Marco Teufel added: "It was really fun to supervise the group and to see how deeply the students got into programming and what diverse perspectives this opens up for the library."
A video produced by the students will soon introduce "NAO" to the public - soon to be found on the HWG LU Master's in Business Information Systems website and on the city library's homepage.
The robot project with the Ludwigshafen City Library is just one of many exciting cooperation projects of the Master's degree course in Information Systems: at the same time as the NAO project, for example, two other student groups were working on practical projects in the area of the Internet of Things: In cooperation with the IT consulting company IBsolution, the students dealt with the topics of "Smart Campus" and "Smart Classroom" respectively in the context of data-supported building and energy management.
For more information on the degree programs and the services offered by the Ludwigshafen City Library, visit:
www.hwg-lu.de/studium/master/master-wirtschaftsinformatik-mit-schwerpunkt-data-science-consulting
www.ludwigshafen.de/lebenswert/stadtbibliothek.
Specialist contacts:
Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society
Prof. Dr. Frank Thomé
Head of the Master's degree course "Business Information Systems with a focus on Data Science & Consulting"
Tel. 0621/5203-213
frank.thome@hwg-lu.de
Ludwigshafen City Library
Tanja Weißmann
Head of
Tel. 0621 504 3533
tanja.weissmann@ 8< SPAM protection, please remove >8 ludwigshafen.de
