2018 – Que Sera! Smart World: What Mars Can Teach Us.

13. Xyna Conference  21.11.2018 at the Kurhaus, Wiesbaden

Learning from Mars for Earth

13th Xyna conference looks at Mars colonies, digitized construction and decentralized power supply

Mainz/Wiesbaden - What could human life on Mars look like - and what can we learn from such a scenario for our world today? Under the motto "Que sera, Smart World - What Mars can teach us", this year's Xyna conference of the Mainz-based GIP Research Institute took place on November 21, 2018. More than 270 guests, mainly from the telecommunications and IT industries, met at the Wiesbaden Kurhaus to discuss related issues. "The extreme requirements for human life on Mars are an incentive to think radically about innovative software and IT solutions for Earth," said GIP board member Dr. Bernd Reifenhäuser, describing his motivation. Prominent ex-astronaut Ulrich Walter provided impulses on the topic.

Scientific astronaut Prof. Dr. Ulrich Walter enthused the audience.

"The Future of Humanity in the Cosmos and How We Can Live on Mars".

Colonies in space

Ulrich Walter, now Professor of Astronautics at the Technical University of Munich, gave the audience a fascinating outlook on the future of man in space. In his view, there are two reasons for colonizing Mars: The search for evidence of life and the use of Mars as a stepping stone for further colonization of space. Because our neighboring planet is extremely cold and its atmosphere contains no oxygen, human settlers would have to live under hermetically sealed domes in an initial phase. "Research is already underway on methods to extract oxygen and fuel from the Martian soil for such settlements," Walter explained. But settlers, the space scientist said, would not want to live permanently under domes, but would want to move freely around the planet.

Therefore, in a second phase, one would begin to transform Mars into a planet that is life-friendly for humans through so-called "terraforming." Researchers have already developed concrete plans for this. First, a powerful greenhouse gas (perfluorocarbon) would be introduced into the Martian atmosphere. This would warm up and cause large quantities of frozen carbon dioxide, which is stored at the Martian poles, to change into a gaseous state. After about 40 years, Mars would have an atmosphere of pure carbon dioxide - also a greenhouse gas that would continue to drive warming. About 100 years later, the temperature would have risen to 0 degrees Celsius, and ice found in the Martian soil would thaw. The water could be used to grow plants, which in turn would produce enough oxygen over the course of 500 or 1000 years for humans to breathe Martian air. In a few thousand years - according to the vision of some scientists - there could even be cities on Mars.

From Mars, humans could eventually set out to colonize planets outside our solar system. However, future settlers would have to limit themselves to our own galaxy, because all others are too far away. But even within our galaxy, the journey to another star would take several hundred years. According to Walter, such distances could be overcome - for example, in 30-kilometer-long "generation ships" that could accommodate entire cities.

Big rush on the Xyna Holo Deck.

Mars Habitat Modelling in Virtual Environment

Digitalized construction

From the distant future, the next lecture brought us back to the present. "Digital Design and Manufacturing" was the topic of Klaus Teltenkötter, architect and professor of digital design at Mainz University of Applied Sciences. He reported on enormous advances that have taken place in this field in recent years. Robots could now brick houses, and do so without pause, while being more individual and precise than humans. "The robot can already build houses even where you yourself don't want to go until later," Teltenkötter said, referring to a possible settlement on Mars. Some experts believe that in as little as 15 years, building with robots will become the industry standard. Computer-controlled drones could also change construction. At the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, scientists are currently experimenting with drones that build bridges in a swarm.

The digital transformation in the construction industry will also be helped by so-called 3-D printers - computer-controlled devices that apply a material layer by layer to create three-dimensional objects. Large-format devices of this kind are now being used to build houses from a variety of materials, such as clay or straw-based raw materials. 3-D printers, Teltenkötter said, could also contribute to the upcycling of plastic waste by using plastics shredded into small pieces as the starting material for new objects. Digitization is also changing the external shape of houses, he said, which - if designed by computer - would turn out round rather than square. "Completely new possibilities are currently emerging in the field of digital design and construction," Teltenkötter summarized.

Full house

It was an honor to welcome so many great guests.

Martian power supply

From the thought experiment of a Martian settlement, GIP president Dr. Bernd Reifenhäuser derived requirements for a power supply system suitable for Mars. "Reduce to the max" is the guiding principle here: the system would have to consume little energy, function without being connected to a terrestrial data center, and be autonomous, self-organized and intelligent. It would have to contain sensors that guarantee high data quality, actuators, especially power electronics, sufficient computing power and the ability to communicate with the various components.

The decentralized power grid "Quantum Grid" developed by GIP meets all these requirements. Analogous to the Internet, small power packets here find their way through the lines independently - even in areas with different voltage or frequency. Special routers are located at certain network nodes in the Quantum Grid that link subnetworks with the same voltage and frequency to other areas. Because the Quantum Grid no longer requires central control, it would be open to even the smallest energy producers. "On Mars, this could be solar panels on the ground or satellites that send down energy by laser or microwave," Reifenhäuser explained. 

On Earth, such a network would be ideal for regions where there are hardly any reliable power grids, for example in Africa. Under the motto "Martian Digitalization," the GIP Research Institute is currently setting up a future laboratory in which the power supply of the future will be simulated and tested.

In his closing presentation, Dr. Alexander Ebbes, Vice President of the GIP Research Institute, introduced a new GIP platform called Xyna Phi.

The GIP was on Mars 5 days before NASA!

Holodeck to Mars: 21.11.2018 // Mars InSight Mission: 26.11.2018

Mars in the holodeck

Between the sessions, visitors had the opportunity to move around a virtual world on Mars in a so-called "holodeck" - the name comes from the science fiction series Star Trek. With the data goggles on their heads, the visitors dived deep into the Martian reality and were able to change it themselves. Using a special tool, visitors were able to design their own habitat out of Martian rock. It was also possible to "beam" to three different locations on Mars. The holodeck, originally developed as part of a research project at Mainz University of Applied Sciences, was very well received and was constantly besieged by visitors.

Various workshops, including a creative workshop on the topic of "Smart World 2050", completed the program, which ended in the evening with the traditional Xyna party.

Xyna Conference 2018 Agenda & Speakers

  • 14:00 – 14:30

    Dr. Bernd Reifenhäuser
    President, GIP Research Institute
    Smart World: Was können wir vom Mars lernen um mit smarten Technologien für die Heißzeit gewappnet zu sein?

  • 14:30 – 15:00

    Prof. Dr. Ulrich Walter
    Science Astronaut, TU Munich
    Die Zukunft der Menschheit im Kosmos und wie wir auf dem Mars leben können

  • 15:00 – 17:00

    Xyna Café
    Xyna Holo-Deck: Virtual visit to Mars: build your own habitat! // Xyna Demos // Meet Prof. Dr. Ulrich Walter // Ideas Conference // coffee & cake

  • 17:00 – 17:30

    Prof. Klaus Teltenkötter
    Mainz University of Applied Sciences
    Digitalisierung im Bereich der Gestaltung

  • 17:30 – 18:00

    Dr. Alexander Ebbes & Dr. Bernd Reifenhäuser
    GIP Exyr GmbH
    Xyna Phi for a Smart World

  • 18:00

    Xyna Party
    Dinner-Buffet & Drinks @ Xyna Holo-Deck

XK2018 Review - Video

A review of the Xyna Conference 2018 of the GIP Research Institute on 21.11.2018 at the Kurhaus, Wiesbaden.

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Newsroom

First xyna.bio Hackathon

Last Friday, xyna.bio hosted a highly successful hackathon, bringing together motivated students and industry experts to work on cutting-edge biotech solutions using our first beta version. We are thrilled to share the highlights and achievements from this inspiring event. Participants tackled ambitious projects, including optimizing a protein involved in plastic degradation and designing a synthetic serotonin-like molecule for Alzheimer's disease treatment. With our initial pipeline, teams were able to design workflows from scratch and present initial results within just a few hours, showcasing the powerful capabilities of xyna.bio. One of the standout achievements was the integration of a ChatGPT node by the students, demonstrating the innovative potential of combining AI with biotech. We are excited to announce that we will be pursuing the addition of this ChatGPT node into the first official version of xyna.bio, set to launch later this year. Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting development!

Monday, July 8, 2024

Great success on jumpstarting with the first Future on Site event – Next GenAI goes Bio!

Our new series Future on Site jumpstarted with an inspiring mixture of young scientists coming together to create future synthetic biology solutions. The eagerness to develop new algorithmic tools and solve modern problems of our local iGEM Teams is fascinating, gaining them each a XOLLX iGEM Grant prize to develop their projects. A highlight was the firsthand insight, invaluable for the development of our Saturn project derived xyna.bio. The idea of an AI-aided bioinformatical analysis hyperautomation platform was greeted by all with enthusiastic discussions and ideas. The shared vision among all at the Future on Site: Next GenAI goes Bio once again showed the great innovative potential that we are eager to harness in these interdisciplinary events. Thank you again to everyone from the iGEM Tübingen, iGEM Aachen, iGEM Frankfurt and CompuGene Student Lab for the amazing first Future On Site Event. We will persist in gathering innovative minds to further work on creating our future.

Monday, May 13, 2024

Future On Site: Next GenAI goes Bio

Future On Site: Next GenAI goes Bio We're thrilled to unveil our vision for xyna.bio - a pioneering GenAI-aided, graph-based platform tailored for bioinformatic analytics. Our platform design is set to empower scientists to streamline their analyses and pipelines without the need for coding expertise or the hassle of deployment all powered by our innovative xyna.ai Saturn program. Join us on the 12. April at the GIP headquarters in Mainz where we'll demonstrate xyna.bio in action, discuss the future of bioinformatical hyperautomation and share visions with local iGEM Teams, students and professionals. For updates and registration: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/xollx-futurelab/

Tuesday, April 2, 2024

Vodafone: wir setzen auf die GIP und auf Xyna

Die GIP Exyr GmbH (Website) und Vodafone verbindet bereits eine lange Geschichte: einst war Arcor bzw. die DBKom (aus der dann erst die CNI, dann Arcor, dann Vodafone hervorging) der erste Kunde des damals noch unter anderem Namen firmierenden Systemintegrators aus dem Bereich Internet / Telekommunikation. Das war 1998!  Seit dieser Zeit besteht eine Partnerschaft mit Vodafone. In einer schnelllebigen und unsteten Zeit sind solche Beziehungen besonders wertvoll. Sie ermöglichen es, nachhaltig wertschaffende Lösungen zu realisieren, die sich immer wieder erneuern und modernisieren, und somit zu stabilen Bausteinen einer zukunftsorientierten Architektur werden.  Für das folgende Testimonial sind wir sehr dankbar: „Seit über zwei Jahrzehnten setzen wir bei der Entwicklung von OSS-Anwendungen auf unseren Partner GIP Exyr GmbH. Die Provisioning-Suite AIDA, die IP-Dienste für Privatkunden, Geschäftskunden und Carrier bereitstellt, basiert auf der Automation-Plattform Xyna Factory. Die GIP Exyr GmbH liefert Kompetenz und Expertise an der anspruchsvollen Schnittstelle zwischen Network Engineering, Automatisierung und Software/IT. Gemeinsam gestalten wir bei Vodafone die Zukunft der Netzautomatisierung — im Einklang mit unserem Credo: Growing Together.“ Steffen Krippner  Head of OSS Fulfilment Vodafone GmbH

Thursday, January 25, 2024

GIP AG fördert studentisches Projekt zu grünem Wasserstoff in Namibia

Mit Startschuss im Mai 2023 unterstützt die GIP in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Verein 3E4Africa ein studentisches Forschungsprojekt in Namibia. Der gemeinnützige Verein 3E4Africa wurde von deutschen und afrikanischen Studenten der RWTH Aachen mit der Zielsetzung Education, Empowerment & Ecofriendliness u. a. zur Förderung nachhaltiger Innovationen in Afrika gegründet. Dazu fördert 3E4A afrikanische Studenten und Forscher bei der Teilnahme an Forschungsprojekten zur Entwicklung von lokalen und nachhaltigen Lösungen für die Energiewende, den Klimawandel und dessen Folgen in Afrika. Namibia eignet sich aufgrund der Größe und hohen Sonneneinstrahlung ideal für die Produktion regenerativer Energien. Grüne Energie in Form von Wasserstoff, der durch Elektrolyse mittels regenerativem Strom aus Wasserkraft erzeugt wird, kann dabei auch als Exportgut dienen. Namibia baut daher zeitnah Kapazitäten zur Produktion grünen Wasserstoffs auf. Aufgrund der geringen Energiedichte bietet sich darüber hinaus die Weiterverwertung von Wasserstoff zu grünem Ammoniak an. Grüner Ammoniak kann nicht nur als Energieträger oder Treibstoff verwendet werden, sondern auch als Ausgangsprodukt für Düngemittel dienen. Genau dort greift das durch die GIP unterstützte studentische Förderprojekt der 3E4A an. Das Ziel des Projektes ist es, die Wirtschaftlichkeit und Wirksamkeit von ökologisch nachhaltigen Ammoniakderivaten, u. a. auf Basis von grünem Wasserstoff, für Düngemittel in der Region Omusati in Namibia zu untersuchen. Das Projektteam wird in enger Zusammenarbeit mit dem Namibian Green Hydrogen Research Institute (NGHRI) arbeiten. Dies trägt sowohl zur Nachwuchsförderung im Bereich der Herstellung von grünem Wasserstoff als Kraftstoff in Namibia bei, als auch zur Entwicklung erneuerbarer Energieinfrastrukturen in Afrika. Wir freuen uns sehr, Teil dieses spannenden Projektes zu sein, und nachhaltige Innovationen lokal in Afrika fördern zu können.

Tuesday, May 9, 2023

Xyna Ad Astra

Under this motto, GIP Exyr GmbH, a 100% subsidiary of GIP AG, hosted XynaCom on 14.06.2022 at the Kulturzentrum, Mainz. In the morning, exciting workshops were held, which provided an insight into selected projects. New employees were also welcomed and introduced. One of the highlights of the event was the presentation by Dr. Alexander Ebbes, who announced the initial open source publishing, the first release of Xyna Factory on GitHub under Apache license. “For Xyna to be successful, out there in the wild, we have to reinvent it, reposition it in a new and contemporary way." This quote from Dr. Alexander Ebbes shows that the tool is no longer limited in its potential and can now develop further. This also changes the mindset of the GIP, which thus also looks to a new future. Afterwards, Dr. Bernd Reifenhäuser, as initiator, announced the foundation of the Future Networking Research Alliance. The goal of the alliance is to lay the foundations for future networks and software-defined networks through cooperative research. The focus will be on software-defined, resilient and secure networks as well as 6G and the Internet of Everything (IoE). The entire article by Dr. Bernd Reifenhäuser on the founding of the alliance can be found on LinkedIn. In addition to GIP AG, the alliance is currently formed by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ulrich Trick and Prof. Dr. Armin Lehmann from the Telecommunications Networks Research Group at the University Of Applied Science Frankfurt, as well as Prof. Dr. Martin Stiemerling and Prof. Dr. Michael von Rüden from the Department of Computer Science at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences. It is completed by Dr. Alexander Ebbes, who represents GIP Exyr GmbH. By forming the alliance, GIP has significantly strengthened its research in the areas of 5G, 6G and Internet of Everything (IoE). By jointly applying and participating in research funding activities, the alliance will be able to fund challenging and high-risk research in the future. The last presentation of XynaCom by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ulrich Trick covered the technology of 5th generation mobile networks. At the end of the event, a copy of the book "5G: An Introduction to 5th Generation Mobile Networks" by Prof. Dr. Trick was raffled off to all participating guests. In addition to all the interesting presentations, the XynaCom was a fitting event to also celebrate the coming together of the employee:s in a larger setting since the beginning of the Corona Pandemic. We look back on this beautiful and eventful day with pleasure.

Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Founding of the research alliance Future Networks

On the initiative of Dr. Bernd Reifenhäuser, GIP AG, the Future Networks research alliance was founded at XynaCom on June 14, 2022, together with Prof. Ulrich Trick and Prof. Armin Lehmann, Telecommunications Networks Research Group of the University of Applied Science Frankfurt am Main, and Dr. Alexander Ebbes, GIP Exyr GmbH.  Among the founding members, who unfortunately could not attend XynaCom on June 14, are Prof. Martin Stiemerling, Prof. Stefan Valentin and Prof. Michael von Rüden of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt. The objective of the alliance is to lay the foundations for future networks and software-defined networks through cooperative research. The focus will be on software-defined, resilient and secure networks as well as 6G and the Internet of Everything (IoE). Current global political developments in particular show that resilience and cyber security are becoming central for networks, as lifelines for our future. But also to be able to counter climate change with technical measures, the stronger networking of people, data, things and processes through the IoE will be inevitable. The next generation of mobile communications, 6G, will offer new dimensions for wireless networking, e.g., with special purpose networks, and thus open up new potential for IoE innovations. Alongside the future Internet of Everything, energy supply will form the backbone of our society. IoE and energy supply are closely linked, so this aspect will also be the subject of the research alliance. The alliance is to be expanded to include medium-sized technology suppliers and providers of all sizes. A central task of the alliance is the successful acquisition of national and European research funds in order to be able to finance these breakthrough innovations. Dr. Ebbes, left, Prof. Trick, center, Prof. Lehmann, right www.gip.com www.e-technik.org www.fbi.h-da.de

Monday, June 20, 2022

GIP receives patent protection in the USA for virtualization of power grids

The US patent has granted the extension of the scope of protection of the GIP patent US 10,361,564 B2: now not only the packet-based CrossBar, called QBar, as a dedicated network node is protected, but also the embodiment of this as a virtual or logical QBar for the distribution of electrical power is included in the scope of protection. With this technology, it is now possible to virtualize and highly dynamically segment power networks. In particular, this technology allows virtual overlay networks to be realized for packet-based power transmission on standard power networks. Then a quantum grid based on standard power grids that is divided into cells can be formed. These cells can exchange power with each other on a packet basis using the virtual QBar technology. A particular advantage of this cell-based Quantum Grid is the firewall function, which prevents a large-scale spread of a blackout and at the same time offers the possibility of operating individual cells in island mode and then interconnecting them again to form an overall grid without the usual problems of "black start".

Monday, July 26, 2021