AI brings more intelligence to the manufacturing world

The 1950s were a decade of change. A new world, a technological one, was emerging from the horrors of the Second World War, but many countries still teetered on the brink of economic ruin and political upheaval.

Electronic and mechanical marvels were beginning to define us, as nations competed to break through high-tech barriers and reach ever-growing levels of technological wonder.

In 1953 American auto giant Chevrolet released the Corvette, which it perfected a decade later with the one-year-only split rear window model. In 1957 the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first satellite ever placed in low Earth orbit, and a year later the Danes gifted the world with the plastic LEGO® brick.

One invention of the ’50s may outlast all of the Vettes and LEGOs, however, and lead the world forward into its next technological evolutionary leap: artificial intelligence (AI).

AI was a concept and term first coined by American computer scientist John McCarthy. It’s broadly defined as a computing system’s ability to interpret external data, learn from it, and to use that newly created data to achieve a specific goal.

The year was 1955 and it was only the beginning.

AI affects the manufacturing sector in many ways. They include:

1. Adaptive design. Novel software allows designers to enter parameters such as material, machine type, and production time at the design stage and then the AI algorithm goes to work. It produces multiple designs and learns from each tweak until a final rendering is chosen.

2. Improved quality. Upping your quality game is necessary in today’s manufacturing environment. Industry 4.0 sensors enable AI algorithms to recognize problems and notify workers to suggest resolutions if a change in production, such as tool wear or a rise in temperature, is likely to affect part quality.

3. Robotics usage. Robots aren’t smart, they’re dumb. They currently only do what we tell them to do, but that is changing thanks to AI. Human-robot interaction is on the rise on the shop floor, and new technology enables these robots to make decisions on their own based on real-time, incoming data.

4. Predictive maintenance. AI algorithms create potential failure models based on data received from machines and use this data to predict their most probable failure point.

So, while your shop doesn’t have to start looking like the bridge of the Enterprise, new, exciting (and terrifying) technology is going to be a part of manufacturing’s future. Get onboard.