AI STRATEGY “ PEAKS AND TROUGHS IN CUSTOMER DEMAND , BASED ON VARIABLES OUT OF EVERYONE ’ S CONTROL , MEANS THERE ’ S NO TREND TO DRAW FROM WHEN IT COMES TO PLANNING NECESSARY STAFF COVER ”
DANIEL HOMBERG QUINYX
Digitalising manufacturing and utilities The impact of the past 12 months has , as in other industries , sent ripples through mainstays like manufacturing and utilities . Overall investment in , and adoption of AI in manufacturing is expected to boost production by billions in just the next few years , according to Nick Wright , Head of Manufacturing Industries at Digital Catapult .
He believes ‘ factories of the future ’ – those utilising AI and IoT technology , among others such as 5G and digital twins – will enable manufacturers to predict downtime , optimise delivery schedules and improve customer service . This will be achieved via the use of mobile IoT , connectivity between workers , the machinery and the product and enable full life-cycles , from incoming raw materials to recycling them for new business models and sustainable services .
In the utility sector there are real life applications emerging and what were concepts have become live commercial deployments . One example is vegetation management , according to Jaro Ulijanovs at utilities automation inspection specialist , Sharper Shape . aimagazine . com 39