Artificial Intelligence in the Smart Factory

The artificial intelligence market was valued at $1.36 billion in 2016 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 52% during the forecast period from 2017 to 2025, according to a recent report from Research and Markets.

Some hype, some reality, some promise. Omnics Co-Founder and CEO, Akhil Oltikar, shares his views.

AI applications for ‘automation' in the factory are already here and well known. For example, autonomous robots that have no need for any human intervention. There exists tremendous value potential to be unlocked with AI for ‘augmentation' in a smart factory. Augmenting human intelligence with good predictive and prescriptive analysis is game changing. 

Today’s factories are subjected to unprecedented business speed and data deluge. Digitization is driving exponential increase in data size and global supply chains need faster and smarter answers. Manual planning and traditional tools for production, inventory and supply planning at the factories are not sustainable. Visibility and business intelligence, though important, is history and factories need to move beyond these using AI technologies.

I specifically see AI applications for smart factory planning in automated and optimized material procurement, autonomous production planning/scheduling, and inventory optimization. Application of AI in factory operational planning holds high potential for boosting top and bottom-line performance through increased human productivity and intelligent decision-making.