The Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) announced the Optimizing Manufacturing Processes by Artificial Intelligence (OMPAI) testbed. The OMPAI testbed is led by IIC members Wanxiang Group and Thingswise and supported by Dell Technologies, Xilinx, China Unicom, and China Academy of Information and Communication Technology (CAICT).
According to the IIC, it is the first IIC testbed to leverage The Linux Foundation’s EdgeX Foundry open edge-computing framework.
The OMPAI testbed explores the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and industrial internet technologies, deployed from the edge to the cloud, to optimize automotive manufacturing processes. It also seeks to create an ecosystem that will foster the exchange of IT/AI/OT domain knowledge and the co-development of smart manufacturing applications. For example, deep learning may be able to improve quality assurance of an automobile part to substantially increase the detection of defects and reduce the need for manual inspection, according to the IIC.
“The application of artificial intelligence in manufacturing is a fledgling field of development in much need of demonstrable success or return on investment (ROI). There is also a challenge of bringing the requisite IT/AI and OT expertise together to enable this development,” said Dr. Shi-Wan Lin, CEO and co-founder of Thingswise, an industrial internet platform solution provider. “It is exciting to see yet another large global manufacturer taking the lead in an IIC testbed, bringing their deep knowledge in production technology to bear, with a sharp focus on applying industrial internet technologies and AI to solve core manufacturing problems, extending from traditional predictive maintenance to production-quality and process optimization. I'm confident that this testbed will bring valuable experience and insights to the Industrial Internet community.”
These testbeds are where the innovation and opportunities of the Industrial Internet happen, according to the IIC, whose member companies partner to create connected solutions and share data. The outcomes from testbeds are the cornerstones of a feedback loop from concept to reality and back to guidance for further innovation.
