In context
In late 2023, industrial automation was grappling with a skilled labor shortage and rising project complexity. Generative AI was emerging as a potential productivity lever, and major automation vendors were beginning to embed it into engineering workflows.
What was reported
Rockwell Automation extended its long-standing partnership with Microsoft to accelerate industrial automation design and development using generative AI. The first outcome integrates Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service into FactoryTalk Design Studio, enabling engineers to generate code from natural language prompts, automate routine tasks, and improve design efficiency.
The integration also helps seasoned engineers accelerate development and mentor newcomers more effectively, while assisting all users in finding relevant information from large documentation sets. Rockwell and Microsoft plan to extend the technology to quality management, failure mode analysis, and training frontline workers via chat-based collaboration with experienced staff and AI chatbots.
Executives from both companies highlighted the potential to address workforce challenges and speed time-to-market. The collaboration also continues exploring the industrial metaverse, combining IoT, cloud data, simulations, and AI for more efficient and sustainable product design.
Why it mattered
This move signaled a shift toward AI-assisted engineering in industrial automation, potentially reducing the impact of skilled labor shortages and setting a precedent for generative AI in control system design.
“Generative AI has already proven its ability to capture the imagination and enhance the productivity of workers in a range of IT and business scenarios.”
Source: Robotics & Automation News (roboticsandautomationnews.com) · Published 2023-10-26 · “Rockwell Automation and Microsoft expand industrial automation design collaboration”