SMARTER ROBOTS, SMARTER FACTORIES

MANUFACTURING TAKES A LEAP AS NEW-AGE ROBOTS COMBINE AI REASONING WITH VISION SYSTEMS TO MANAGE TASKS LIKE ASSEMBLY, INSPECTION AND PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE

- BY PRIYANKA SANGANI

AT THE ABB Smart Power factory in Nelamangala, Bengaluru, the quality inspection process is no longer manual. An artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled camera takes pictures of the finished moulded case circuit breaker (MCCB) from five sides and checks against the algorithm for defects such as terminal thickness, height, printing errors and scratches. Only when all the parameters are met-no smudged text, printing error or structural damage-is the MCCB cleared for packaging. Saju SR, Senior Vice President, Smart Power Division, ABB India, claims zero returns since the system was implemented. The system has brought a level of precision that is impossible for a human being.

ABB is not alone. AI—from being focused largely on software functions—is finding its way to physical environments such as factory shop floors and warehouses as well. At the Tata Steel factory in Jamshedpur, an AI-enabled sensor tests for corrosion in pipes, a change from the earlier system where the operator had to decide whether to continue running the system based on the camera feed. Now, the AI model determines the extent of the corrosion and takes a call if it’s safe to run the machine. The 118-year-old company runs 650 AI models at manufacturing locations; over 500 are in India. It has also set up a remote maintenance centre to monitor mining operations. “Our Integrated Remote Operations Centres, Raw Material Supervision Centres and Integrated Maintenance Excellence Centre provide intelligent, location-agnostic oversight of processes from hundreds of kilometres away. This enables centralised predictive and prescriptive maintenance, saving over 1,500 hours in asset maintenance time,” says Jayanta Banerjee, Chief Information Officer, Tata Steel.