Industrial artificial intelligence, or industrial AI, refers to the application of artificial intelligence to the manufacturing industry. Industrial artificial intelligence is concerned with solving industrial pain points, to improve productivity and gain insight into production.
Why is industrial AI growing?
The concept of artificial intelligence emerged around the 1940s, with the idea of improving productivity through smart analysis and modelling. In recent years, the popularity of industrial artificial intelligence has grown because of:
- More affordable sensors
- Automated data collection systems
- Powerful computing capacity
- Fast networks
- Accessible cloud services
Industrial Artificial Intelligence contributes to optimising services, improving processes and gaining insight.
Applications of AI in manufacturing
- Predictive maintenance
- Predicting failures from sensor data such as vibration and temperature, so maintenance can be scheduled before a machine breaks down.
- Quality inspection
- Using computer vision to detect deviations and defects in products automatically, faster and more consistently than manual inspection.
- Process optimisation
- Finding relationships between process settings and results, to produce more good output with the same resources.
- Demand forecasting and planning
- Forecasting demand and lead times, so production and inventory are better aligned.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between AI and machine learning?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the umbrella term for systems that perform tasks which normally require human intelligence. Machine learning is a subset of AI in which a model learns patterns from data, instead of having every rule programmed in advance.
What data does industrial AI need?
Industrial AI uses process data such as sensor readings (temperature, pressure, vibration), machine states, production counts, quality measurements and camera images. The more complete and consistent this data is collected, the more reliable the models become.
What are the benefits of industrial AI?
Industrial AI contributes to more output from a production line, higher and more consistent quality, less unplanned downtime and more insight into the production process.
Is industrial AI only for large factories?
No. Because sensors, computing power and cloud services have become affordable, industrial AI is also feasible for mid-sized and smaller manufacturers. Starting with one concrete pain point works best.