The State of Artificial Intelligence at the Manufacturing Edge Posted on : Nov 23 - 2022

As the chief engineer and head of the department for digital transformation of manufacturing technologies at the Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL) within RWTH Aachen University, I’ve seen a lot of technological advancements in the manufacturing industry over my tenure. I hope to help other manufacturers struggling with the complexities of AI in manufacturing by summarizing my findings and sharing some key themes.

The WZL has been synonymous with pioneering research and successful innovations in the field of production technology for more than a hundred years, and we publish over a hundred scientific and technical papers on our research activities every year. The WZL is focused on a holistic approach to production engineering, covering the specifics of manufacturing technologies, machine tools, production metrology and production management, helping manufacturers test and refine advanced technology solutions before putting them into production at the manufacturing edge. In my team, we have a mix of computer scientists, like me, working together with mathematicians and mechanical engineers to help manufacturers use advanced technologies to gain new insights from machine, product, and manufacturing data.

Closing the edge AI insight gap starts and ends with people

Manufacturers of all sizes are looking to develop AI models they can use at the edge to translate their data into something that’s helpful to engineers and adds value to the business. Most of our AI efforts are focused on creating a more transparent shop floor, with automated, AI-driven insights that can: View More