IBM is teaming up with power systems and robotics giant ABB in a bid to apply AI (artificial intelligence) to the shop floor, smart grids and other industrial scenarios. The partnership will incorporate ABB's Ability platform with IBM's Watson IoT (Internet of things) technology:
The solutions enable current connected systems that simply gather data to become cognitive industrial machines that use data to understand, sense, reason and take actions to support industrial workers.
ABB CEO, Ulrich Spiesshofer enumerates: “This powerful combination marks truly the next level of industrial technology, moving beyond current connected systems that simply gather data, to industrial operations and machines that use data to sense, analyze, optimize and take actions that drive greater uptime, speed and yield for industrial customers.”
“This important collaboration with ABB will take Watson even deeper into industrial applications — from manufacturing, to utilities, to transportation and more,” said Ginni Rometty, IBM Chairman, president and CEO.
Analysis: ABB-IBM Partnership speaks to broader trend
The pairing of ABB and IBM's platforms represent a continued shift away IT and toward operational technology, says Constellation Research VP and principal analyst Andy Mulholland. "IoT instrumentation creating massive new streams of data for AI to process is fast becoming the biggest driving force for the creation of digital business," he says. "The puzzlement of the IT community about the role and use of IBM Watson in IT should be rapidly being replaced by the desire to gain more understanding of this changing focus for the deployment of technology in enterprises."
First up, IBM and ABB will focus on the factory floor and smart grids.
On the first, real-time production images collected by ABB systems will be analyzed through Watson IoT for Manufacturing, according to a statement. Watson will scan the images for defects, eliminating the previous manual inspection process. The result will be higher throughput for production lines along with better quality, the companies say.
Meanwhile, Watson will also be used to predict demand for electric power based on historical and weather data, allowing utilities to fine-tune the upkeep and operation of smart grids.
ABB and IBM made the announcement in conjunction with Hannover Messe, the large industrial trade fair held annually in Germany.
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