Today it’s a common occurrence. You search for something online then a little while later notice that your computer and phone are filled with ads about that thing you searched for. Or maybe during dinner you have a family discussion about where to go on vacation. You weren’t even using your phone or laptop but the next time you do, you find both are full of articles and advertisements to save on flights and hotels for your next family vacation. They are on your screen, in your email and on your social media – just because you mentioned the topic with your phone nearby. This is a type of AI or artificial intelligence most of us have experienced and may even be a bit unnerved by.
The truth is our phones do track us. Location data is collected by apps and the phone’s operating system and then used for various purposes, including targeted advertising and location-based services. The more you use Alexa or Siri the more “they learn” about you, so that when you ask for the best dinner options within a twenty-mile radius they make “suggestions” based on analysis of the data they collected on you in the past. This is how they “learn” and become more “intelligent.”
Let’s face it, being able to get large amounts of detailed information about anything we ask, almost instantaneously, is both amazing and very helpful! How much time would it take you to Google and research all the different details of that family vacation that ChatGPT can provide in seconds? Though this type of AI is impressive, it can be used for so much more!
Using the incredible technology behind Artificial Intelligence, in very controlled and targeted ways, can deliver great benefits for your business.
How is AI Transforming Manufacturing?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing the way manufacturing companies work by making them smarter, faster, safer and more efficient.
- Predictive Maintenance: What if you could predict problems before they happen? AI can monitor your equipment and spot problems before something breaks, saving you costly downtime and repairs.
- Quality Control: Instead of relying entirely on human inspectors, use AI powered sensors to detect microscopic defects and irregularities that the human eye may miss. This helps ensure high quality and customer satisfaction.
- Production Optimization: when production data is analyzed, AI can recommend the best way to schedule work, manage supply chains, and utilize material to reduce waste and improve delivery time.
- Supporting Your Workforce: The power of AI can support your employees. AI powered tools can take on repetitive or dangerous tasks, guide assembly steps and make suggestions if problems arise, which improves safety and productivity.
- Designing Better Products: AI can simulate and test thousands of design ideas quickly to help companies design and create, better, stronger, lighter, more cost-effective products.
Artificial Intelligence in manufacturing will help make production more reliable, efficient, and adaptable, while supporting workers and improving product quality. It’s like having a highly skilled assistant who never gets tired and learns faster and knows more every day.
Is it Safe to Bring AI into My Facility?
The way AI is used in manufacturing is very specific to what it has been trained on within its software. For example, the cameras that scan and inspect products are not recording people’s voices or tracking the searches employees make online. For inspection, AI compares images it was trained on to the parts that are being scanned to determine if they pass or fail quality standards. Remember, when we say AI is being “trained,” we mean that, it is given data, in the form of information and images to analyze and store (learn). The information that it needs to “learn” must be provided. The more it “learns” the more material it can optimize or “knows,” making it more efficient. AI applications are not limited to manufacturing. It has uses in the office and warehouse as well as the shop floor.
Mass MEP’s AI Fundamentals in Manufacturing
Technology moves quickly. Unimaginable things we saw in sci-fi movies twenty years ago are regular parts of our lives today. There are elements of AI you could be using today to help operate your business more efficiently, economically, and safely. Learning about Artificial Intelligence and its potential benefits to manufacturing can help you move forward more comfortably or at least keep you up to speed with what’s going on right now.
“What we are trying to do is get manufacturers on the AI curve because they are falling behind. We want them to at least be on the curve.”
Matthew Healy, Associate Director of Technology, MassMEP
MassMEP’s AI Fundamentals in Manufacturing class will help demystify AI and allow you to learn and ask questions about this ever-growing technology. For more information contact Matthew Healy at matthewh@massmep.org. or 508-831-7020 Ext. 201.