TECH & AI
( LLMs), domain knowledge and visual data to create intelligent agents within the manufacturing process.
For example, at Hitachi Rail’ s digitalfirst facility in Hagerstown, Maryland, which is built on our Lumada Unified Data Layer( UDL), we are developing a GenAI-powered worker support tool. This system integrates multimodal LLMs with an expert system and knowledge graphs to provide smart, real-time assistance to manufacturing operators.
It guides them in understanding cause-and-effect relationships, quickly identifying root causes of issues and preventing problems that could slow down production or compromise quality. This not only enhances worker productivity and improves product quality but also significantly reduces the probability of human error, directly affecting health and safety.
Consequently, AI is also fuelling the urgent need for enhanced‘ digital capability’ across all industries, including manufacturing. Even now, forwardthinking manufacturers are beginning to explore how digital tools, often underpinned by AI principles, can optimise their internal processes, improve efficiency and enhance their supply chain readiness by moving towards more advanced automation and robotics fuelled by these intelligent agents.
Alongside this monumental shift in manufacturing, we must talk about the elephant in the room – energy. We’ re seeing an unprecedented surge in electricity consumption driven by AI and the vast data centres required to power it, intensifying the pressure on our existing grids. For manufacturers, this means operating in an environment where reliable power is under increasing scrutiny, and the cost and security of energy supply are becoming critical business considerations. So, while not necessarily inside the production line itself, AI is fundamentally altering the energy landscape which manufacturing relies upon. manufacturingdigital. com 77