Industrial Automation Magazine India

AI and ML help manufacturing companies for creating prediction models

Published on : Tuesday 08-02-2022

S Gangadhararao Boppana, Co-Founder & CEO at STABILITY.

Which forthcoming advances in technology will impact industrial automation?
Devices with Cyber Physical Interface will impact industrial Automation, meaning it is having features of IoT and Connectivity, data collection, knowledge base, modelling, edge intelligence, Visualisation and many more advanced features.
 
How are manufacturing industries leveraging AI/ML? How do automation controllers provide the necessary platform?
Manufacturing industries leveraging AI/ML capabilities for Prediction of Machine Failures using Predictive Maintenance Models, Forecasting of Customer Orders, Consumptions and Production, Quality checking using Computer Vision based Techniques.
 
With the help of next generation automation controllers having GPU hardware with Edge computing capabilities and Open platform-based programming tools, cloud based platforms like PaaS, SaaS, IaaS will help to leverage AI/ML technologies.
 
AI and ML need massive amounts of data to be gathered by IoT devices. What strategies do industry plan to collaborate in data collection?
To build and execute AI/ML models we need massive, quality and different types of data for better prediction outcomes. Industry has to plan data collection strategies based on application, sampling frequency and prediction intervals, e.g., for any plant data collection sources are PLCs, SCADA, HMI, Historians, Data base, Energy Meters, Quality Systems, Data Entry Tools, MES, ERP, etc. General data collection approach will not work out in this scenario, we need to go with Big Data collection methods and tools with data processing techniques, like for Streaming Kafka, Kinesis and for Big Data Processing, Hadoop and Spark.
 
The 3Vs of Data collection must be followed, i.e., Volume, Velocity and Variety.
 
How can AI and ML help companies create predictive models, analyse operations, make accurate forecasts and automate supply chains?
AI and ML help manufacturing companies for creating prediction models for machine predictive maintenance, production, orders, and consumption forecast, which can help to increase production rate and reduces machine down time and help to improve machine performance,
 
Using data visualisation tools will help to visualise data to make corrective decisions and analyse operations using real time data, with the help of real time data will increase forecast efficiency.
 
Also, with the above methods we can automate the supply network, i.e., without human intervention orders can be taken and proceed and delivered to customers.
 
AI and ML business benefits:
1.    Visibility – What Happens? → Seeing
2.    Transparency – Why It Happened? → Understanding
3.    Forecasting Ability –What Will Happen → To be Prepared
4.    Adaptability – How can it be influenced autonomously → Self-optimisation and closed control loop.
 
The full potential of AI and ML is realised only when the scale of operations is big enough. How can the average SME benefit with their limited resources?
In today’s world technology is not the barrier for adoption – it is only the culture of organisations to adopt AI and ML, an average SME can benefit from increasing machine performance, quality and delivery with the help of AI and ML by using existing resources.
 
The human element remains critical in deployment of new technologies. How is skill development to be planned in a scenario of not yet mature technological advances?
Agree, the human element is very critical in developing and deploying new technology solutions, there is hype in the outside market, i.e., job opportunities will reduce due to AI and ML, practically it is not true due to technology advance job and learning opportunities will increase in the market. AI and ML will not replace humans, and it will help humans for faster decision making.
 
(The views expressed in interviews are personal, not necessarily of the organisations represented)
 
S Gangadhararao Boppana is a Techno Entrepreneurial & Data Science professional with remarkable capacity for Innovation, Product Development, Leadership, and Business Growth. Having more than 14+ years of industry experience and working experience with Fortune 100 Companies in Product Development, Testing & Execution. Executive specialist in Industry 4.0 Assessment & Solution Provider for Manufacturing Industry Digital Transformation Journey. Promoting culture of innovation and entrepreneurship by serving as a platform, system integrator, and solution partnerships. Working toward enabling AI & ML based Technology Solutions in Manufacturing Eco Systems. Alumni of India School of Business (ISB). LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/bsgrao