The Future of Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing

Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) systems and applications are improving at a rapid pace. According to Business Insider Intelligence, the IoT market is expected to grow to over $2.4 trillion annually by 2027, with more than 41 billion IoT devices projected.

Providers are working to meet the growing needs of companies and consumers. New technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), and machine learning make it possible to realize massive gains in process efficiency. 

With the growing use of AI and its integration into IoT solutions, business owners are getting the tools to improve and enhance their manufacturing. The AI systems are being used to: 

• Detect defects
• Predict failures
• Optimize processes
• Make devices smarter

Using the correct data, companies will become more creative with their solutions. This sets them apart from the competition and improves their work processes.

Detect Defects

AI integration into manufacturing improves the quality of the products, reducing the probability of errors and defects.

Defect detection factors into the improvement of overall product quality. For instance, the BMW group is employing AI to inspect part images in their production lines, which enables them to detect deviations from the standard in real time. This massively improves their production quality.

Nokia started using an AI-driven video application to inform the operator at the assembly plant about inconsistencies in the production process. This means issues can be corrected in real time. 

A deep learning-based defect detection system has a better perception than traditional machine vision. Using object detection and image classification algorithms applied to real-time video stream processing, AI engineers build systems which are capable of recognizing surface defects on the products such as cracks, leaks, and scratches.  
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Predict Failures

Predicting when a production line will need maintenance is also simple with machine learning. This is useful in the sense that, instead of fixing failures when they happen, you get to predict them before they occur.

Using time-series data, machine learning models enhance the maintenance prediction system to analyze patterns likely to cause failure. Predictive maintenance is accurate using regression, classification, and anomaly detection models. It optimizes performance before failure can happen in manufacturing systems.

General Motors uses AI predictive maintenance systems across its production sites globally. Analyzing images from cameras mounted on assembly robots, these systems are identifying the problems before they can result in unplanned outages.

High speed rail lines by Thales are being maintained by machine learning that predicts when the rail system needs maintenance checks.

Optimize Processes

The growth of IIoT allows for automation of most production processes by optimizing energy consumption and predictions for the production line. The supply chain is also improving with deep learning models, ensuring that companies can deal with greater volumes of data. It makes the supply chain management system cognitive, and helps in defining optimal solutions. 

Make Devices Smarter

By employing machine learning algorithms to process the data generated by hardware devices at the local level, there is no longer a need to connect to the internet to process data or make real-time decisions. Edge AI does away with the limitation of networks.

The information doesn’t have to be uploaded to the cloud for the machine learning models to work on it. Instead, the data is processed locally and used within the system. It also works for the improvement of the algorithms and systems used to process information.

These systems can use machine learning while still offline, which reduces reliance on the internet. This enables the systems to be more efficient in their operations, and the company can improve its production over time. Edge AI also makes production more accurate. 
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What’s Next?

The manufacturing market is seeing a huge boost thanks to the IIoT and AI progress. Machine learning models are being used to optimize work processes. 

The quality of products is getting improved by reducing the number of defects that are likely to occur. This is expected to improve over time, and it also will heavily improve the production process to reduce errors and defects in products.

There is still a huge potential of AI that has yet to be utilized. Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN) can be used for product design, choosing the best combination of parameters for a future product and putting it into production.

The workflow becomes cheaper and more manageable. Companies realize this benefit in the form of a faster time to market. New product cycles also ensure that the company stays relevant in terms of production.

Networks are set to upgrade to 5G, which will witness greater capacities and provide an avenue for artificial intelligence to utilize this resource better. It will also be a connection for the industrial internet of things and see a boost in production processes. Connected self-aware systems will also be useful for the manufacturing systems of the future.

AI is going to make inroads into the world of manufacturing. The processes will get better, faster, and more accurate. AI algorithms will improve and optimize the performance and accuracy of the machine learning models. This makes the AI more accurate and better at working with massive datasets to improve the manufacturing process.