Omron Industrial Automation Europe offers a new solution for control and predictive maintenance. It is the first machine automation controller on the market* equipped with artificial intelligence and a Sysmac library. It combines equipment and production line control functions with real-time AI processing on production sites.
This powerful solution enables manufacturers to reduce material damage and downtime by detecting problems early and taking immediate action to resolve them. Customers can take advantage of Omron's advanced technology and team of data analysts to facilitate predictive maintenance and avoid unexpected downtime.
The process of collecting raw data from machines is fully automated thanks to the new AI controller, which operates at the periphery within the machine, guaranteeing greater data fidelity and consistency. In addition, the controller automatically creates data models based on correlation analysis, and monitors machine status according to this model. Without this automation, machine designers and operators would have to develop their own analysis and optimization capabilities to avoid the costs of a cloud solution.
The controller's artificial intelligence functionality can identify abnormal machine behavior without it having been explicitly programmed. Many factors and measurements can indicate a problem when observed simultaneously. Automating the feature extraction process saves valuable time and resources. Relying on machine learning results during production is essential to reduce costs for the end user.
Rather than a cloud solution, Omron's unique approach to AI-based control systems includes hardware, software and in-person service. No internet connectivity is required. The hardware is based on the IPC NY5 machine controller and NX7 CPU, and includes Omron's AI application components, a library of pre-programmed predictive maintenance function blocks based on Omron's know-how gained from sample applications. Several other AI-specific utilities are also included, such as the time series database function, which collects and gathers time series data synchronized with the high-speed control cycle. Finally, the AI engine detects anomalies at high speed and with data-driven precision.
Omron works with its customers to develop its original concept of manufacturing innovation: "innovation-automation". Thanks to the AI controller and the Sysmac library, the company is accelerating the implementation of intelligent automation to create the factory of the future, where people and machines will work together in harmony to reduce machine downtime, optimize performance and guarantee defect-free equipment.
*1) According to the Omron survey conducted in November 2016.
Learn more: https://www.omron.com/