Excursion: Visit of PCH Innovations

After our visit at Circular Berlin, we went on to PCH Innovations, a studio working at the intersection of technology and design. Moritz Koch, who also studied industrial design at Burg Giebichenstein and now works in the field of robotic hardware, and Gabriella Seeman, Head of Design at the studio, introduced themselves to us. PCH combines sustainability, technology and circular thinking and complements these focal points with speculative approaches.
We were given a detailed overview of how the studio works and some of the projects realized there, such as the BI.L.L. robot developed in collaboration with Nike. This fully automated robot was designed to clean and repair Nike shoes.
We also gained interesting insights into the collaboration between PCH and CISTUAC, a project to promote the textile circular economy. The result is a modular, partially semi-automated repair station for zippers. The station consists of three main islands that can be adapted to customer-specific contexts and the available space. In addition to an integrated automatic zipper detection tool, an ultrasonic cutting unit and sewing machines, the station is also equipped with customized ergonomic hand tools, a mobile storage unit and an integrated user interface that guides users through each repair step. We were then given a tour of the studio’s facilities, which are located in an old kindergarten in Berlin Mitte. We were able to see the workshop, some prototypes and samples, as well as the robotics workstations, and had the opportunity to discuss open questions with two other employees. Thanks for the exciting insights from the entire project group!