FEATURE Smart factories and AI
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Artifi cial Intelligence in machine control
by Steve Sands, Technical Consultant at Festo GB I
t’s been challenging few months for Artifi cial Intelligence (AI) as negative press stories about its potential misuse outweigh those advocating its power for good. Wider awareness and acceptance of AI will accelerate its uptake within automation, but we may have to use terms like ‘Deep’ and ‘Machine Learning’ to avoid its misperceptions. Engineers need to become more familiar with the benefi ts of AI and identify the industrial applications based on the individual business cases where this technology can be used to best eff ect. There are already tools to aid this process. For example, the Festo Automation Experience (AX) artifi cial intelligence tool enables engineers to use machine learning algorithms to achieve high added value from the data produced by their systems. It was designed to address three key areas – preventative maintenance, energy consumption and quality optimisation – so customers can ultimately increase productivity and reduce costs. Festo AX keeps “humans in the loop” by integrating the users’ valuable application knowledge and fi ndings with our algorithms using Reinforcement Learning Software. The user inputs help Festo AX learn more about the state of the assets, providing continuous learning and thereby improving the algorithm predictions. This means anomalies are defi ned with greater reliability and fi ner classifi cations, and alerts are raised more appropriately. Human feedback on anomalies detected within the data further trains the software, translating raw data into systemised models where patterns are established, and the causes and solutions are correctly categorised and communicated. Notifi cations and alerts are raised to the appropriate people at the best time and in the preferred way. This can be via high- level reports, maintenance interventions, text messages or direct input to smart maintenance tools.
This illustrates how the future of Machine Learning and industrial automation are intrinsically linked.
12 March 2024 | Automation
Powerful solutions In the not too distant future, we will see more powerful software tools that speed-up and support designers and programmers with AI-optimised machine designs. These will be easier to use than ever before, by being programmed more intuitively through plain speech or text. Complex machine models will be
created more quickly and error-free from standardised and structured data models. Intrinsic to this is the role of Digital Twins for the components and sub-systems. These incorporate all the information about components, their physical attributes, performance dynamics and operation. Having this information in a standardised and structured format enables digital reads, not requiring the user to ‘hard program’ the data. The system reads its constituent parts and understands their operation, interpreting anomalies in their performance and supplying valuable information in plain text, enabling improved predictive maintenance, better energy consumption, and more. This means the digital system confi guration is always up to date and isn’t reliant on updating documentation or programs during the machine lifecycle.
In future, it may be that designing machines using AI will work in a similar vein to creative AI programmes like Stable Diff usion Art, whereby the user defi nes the task, i.e., what they want to achieve, and AI APIs suggest alternative solutions. The engineer can either directly review the solutions or use a secondary AI package to challenge the designs and ensure they are feasible (as Chat GPT already does). We can already see AI tools being used for software programming based on the clear text defi nition of the task, the proposed machine design and any constraints and frameworks, such as safety.
Realising the potential of AI The introduction of any new technology or way of working presents challenges and opportunities, and AI is no exception. Staying up to date with the latest AI developments is essential if we are to realise its potential and understand its limitations. Only then can we work with our customers, enabling them to gain confi dence in the full benefi ts of the technology. At Festo, we are embracing the new era of AI and look forward to our customers reaping the rewards.
automationmagazine.co.uk
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