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Volkswagen Going All In on AI Manufacturing Performance Systems

Given the supply chain agonies carmakers are experiencing as a result of the global pandemic, any increase in factory efficiencies will represent a welcome advancement, and artificial intelligence is surely part of the puzzle.
Volkswagen AI 9 photos
Photo: Volkswagen US
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In simple terms, artificial intelligence refers to any machine taking on tasks typically associated with human intelligence like reasoning, learning and self-improvement.

AI systems applied to factories are roughly akin to AI systems that make our phone calls clearer or can ‘listen’ for changes in pitch which occur when drill bits or saw blades become dull.

Volkswagen just launched what they say is a “digital transformation push” across the company’s assembly plants in the United States and Mexico. It’s hoped that these efforts will lead to more efficient management of material flows, optimized operation of machines and systems, and increased savings in energy consumption for manufacturing-related processes.

Volkswagen says a new artificial intelligence tool developed in-house at Volkswagen’s AI Detroit center will help manage factory schedules in Chattanooga and that this line of technology is designed to reduce the amount of time that supervisors spend balancing inputs like training levels and staff time off.

Volkswagen plans to spend $1 billion dollars pursuing electric mobility and digitalization in North America.

Volkswagen says it is working to bring technologies - such as cloud-based industrial software, intelligent robotics and artificial intelligence - into all its factory operations.

The hoped-for result will be a 30 percent increase in manufacturing performance for all the company’s electric vehicle assembly and large-scale car assembly operations by 2025.

Johan de Nysschen, chief operating officer at Volkswagen Group of America, says the plan represents an “ambitious digital transformation” aimed at making Volkswagen’s factories more productive, connected and more sustainable.

They call it the Industrial Cloud, and it represents Volkswagen Group’s cloud-based IT platform. The company expects to crank up global manufacturing performance via sharing data connections, real-time feedback and software apps for industrial machinery.

Some 21 Volkswagen Group worldwide plants and 13 global suppliers are already part of this global IT platform.

As part of the Industrial Cloud, the company says intelligent conveyor motor monitoring apps are expected to reduce downtime and support “predictive maintenance” technologies. Cameras with “machine vision” technology will be used to quality-check engine components.
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