ABB and Microsoft Collaborate to Bring Generative AI to Industrial Applications
July 10, 2023
- ABB is working with Microsoft on the integration of generative AI capabilities into industrial digital solutions for safer, smarter and more sustainable operations
- The collaboration aims to deploy Copilot capabilities to enable more intuitive user interaction with ABB Ability™ Genix Industrial Analytics and AI Suite and its applications, and further enhance the value of contextualized data for efficiency and sustainability gains
- ABB is leveraging Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to complement ABB Ability Genix
Expanding on their long-standing partnership, ABB will collaborate with Microsoft on the integration of Azure OpenAI Service into the ABB Ability™ Genix Industrial Analytics and AI suite. The companies will work together on the implementation of generative AI technology to help industrial customers unlock insights hidden in operational data. Improved data collection and remediation will enable significant gains in efficiency and productivity, asset reliability, operational safety, lower energy consumption, and reduced environmental impact.
ABB will integrate generative AI through Azure OpenAI Service
ABB will integrate generative AI through Azure OpenAI Service including large language models (LLMs) like GPT-4 into the Genix platform and applications, enabling functionality such as code, image, and text generation. Once launched, the new application – Genix Copilot – will enhance user experience by offering intuitive functionality and by streamlining the flow of contextualized data across processes and operations. This will provide industry executives, functional specialists, and shop floor engineers with real-time actionable insights for better decision-making and increased productivity. Such insights have the potential to extend asset lifespan by up to 20 percent and minimize unplanned downtime by up to 60 percent.
In addition, the solution will have the capability to help customers achieve their sustainability and energy transition objectives by providing advanced monitoring and optimization insights into the industrial greenhouse gas emissions and energy usage.
Genix Copilot will also enable capturing an operators’ knowledge and facilitating collaborative decision-making across various roles, with a strong emphasis on safeguarding data and knowledge within the enterprise.
ABB Ability™ Genix is a comprehensive, modular industrial IoT, analytics and AI platform that embeds industry-specific domain knowledge to drive business outcomes and ensures the protection of customers’ existing investments. Businesses running Genix have seen up to 40 percent cost savings in operations and maintenance, up to 30 percent improvement in production efficiency, and up to 25 percent improvements in energy and emission optimization. The addition of generative AI capabilities to Genix are expected to further increase these benefits.
“This is an important step in ABB and Microsoft’s strategic partnership which will accelerate the digital transformation of the industrial sector,” said Rajesh Ramachandran, Global Chief Digital Officer, ABB Process Automation. “We believe Genix Copilot will help industrial customers achieve their combined objectives of sustainability, operational excellence and enhanced asset performance. Extending the generative AI capabilities across ABB’s industrial digital solutions will usher customers into a new era of AI enabling billions of better decisions.”
Rajesh Ramachandran, Global Chief Digital Officer, ABB Process Automation
“We believe organizations that will be best positioned for long-term success are those that modernize and scale their data platforms,” said Ralph Haupter, President, EMEA at Microsoft. “Applying advanced digital capabilities such as Azure OpenAI Service will strengthen ABB’s Genix to effectively manage the contextualized data while also helping drive the digital transformation critical for growth and lasting change.”
Ralph Haupter, President, EMEA at Microsoft
Genix unlocks the power of data by automating contextual integration of operations (OT), information (IT), and engineering (ET) data across the enterprise and applies Industrial AI to bring advanced analytics and optimization. It can seamlessly scale from asset to plant to an enterprise. The platform can be deployed across cloud, hybrid, edge or on-premises. Genix is secure by design and uses Microsoft Azure for integrated cloud connectivity and services.
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Their discussion focused on the convergence of digitalization and sustainability and the critical role of the industrial IoT. This article highlights what these experts address as the mega trends of digitalization and sustainability and how leaders can use the industrial IoT to make better decisions and tackle the massive threat of the climate crisis.
