From insider tip to the leading interdisciplinary tech festival in Germany: The TOA Berlin (2 to 5 July at the Funkhaus Berlin on the banks of the Spree River) goes into the eighth round – and Daimler is one of the main partners for the second time. Under the umbrella of the DigitalLife@Daimler initiative, the company continues its commitment to the event, makes new connections to the international tech and start-up scene in this way and showcases itself as an attractive employer for digital talents. The presentation this year focuses on the ever increasing importance of partnerships and networking. Under the heading of "Urbania", Daimler presents digital innovations and showcases for the city of tomorrow on a joint stand with T-Systems.
"We want to remain a leading vehicle manufacturer and at the same time evolve into a leading provider of mobility services. Everything we do revolves around the customer. As in the past, we will only be as successful as our products and services are in the market. Digitisation is a key factor in this regard. With its help, we are able to respond to the wishes of our customers even faster and more purposefully – and thus drive ahead with the greatest transformation in the history of our company", says Harald Rudolph, Head of the Daimler Strategy.
Experiencing innovations already before production readiness
Daimler presents current projects and digital innovations in the House of Tech. The exhibition space directly borders the stand of T-Systems. The central area in the middle is used jointly by both companies for encounters and events. Among other things, this is where the DigitalLife Tech Talks on topics such as "New Work" or the panel on "The Power of Purpose“ of the successful "She's Mercedes" initiative are held. In addition, the first all-electric Mercedes-Benz eCitaro and the new Mercedes-Benz EQC Edition 1886 (combined power consumption: 20.8 - 19.7 kWh/100 km; combined CO2 emissions: 0 g/km)[1] are displayed in an outdoor area. Many of the presented ideas and projects are still in the testing phase. This allows technophiles to provide their feedback at an early stage.
The presentations on the Daimler stand include a prototype from the In-Car-Gaming research project, which was custom-installed in a Mercedes-Benz CLA. This gives the visitors an idea of the in-car entertainment of the future: Because in future, the time for charging an electric vehicle could be used for gaming. Daimler Group Research as well presents future topics under the umbrella brand "PIONEERING by Daimler": for example, STARTUP AUTOBAHN, an innovation platform with the aim of networking the best start-ups worldwide with the specialist units and experts of Daimler. The key issue of the current project phase is sustainability.
In addition, the innovations and activities Daimler presents at the Tech Open Air include the following:
Keynotes and satellite events
As part of the TOA Festival, there will be discussion sessions and lectures on the future of cities and of mobility: On the agenda are keynotes by Daniela Gerd tom Markotten, CEO of REACH NOW, and Olivier Reppert, CEO of SHARE NOW, and others. The Daimler presentation at the festival is accompanied by so-called satellite events: On 2 July, the "EQnight" will be held at the 'Von Greifswald" event location as the opening event of the TOA. The guests can look forward to an interactive exchange on the issues of cities, mobility and sustainability with exciting experts, as well as to the première of the unique "HoloLens EQC Experience". Further EQ Community events planned for 4 July are an EQ workshop on the topic of "See like a pony: What ponies can teach us about automated driving“, as well as an EQ networking dinner. On 2 July from 5:30 p.m., Mercedes-Benz Consulting, together with Red Bull, is extending invitations to the "Ride into the Future: Satellite Talk & Rooftop Party“ at the MindSpace location in Friedrichstrasse.
What exactly is DigitalLife@Daimler?
Daimler has been investing in the digitisation of all its business processes for many years. In order to shape this change already, from a position of leadership, the company wants to strengthen all of its global units to enable them to form the basis for the successful implementation of new business models with an emphasis on the company's 5C strategy. We shall: strengthen our core business (CORE), lead in new future fields (CASE), adapt our corporate culture (CULTURE) and adapt our divisional structure (COMPANY). The benchmark for each of these modules is our fifth and most important C: our CUSTOMERS. For a long time now, Daimler has made the digital transformation a key component of its corporate strategy. With DigitalLife@Daimler we are promoting the digital transformation in all divisions at Daimler and driving forward digital issues with an integrated and cross-divisional approach.
[1] Power consumption and range have been determined on the basis of Regulation (EC) No. 692/2008. Power consumption and range depend on the vehicle configuration.