Rockwell Automation, the world’s largest industrial automation and information company, has announced the FactoryTalk Analytics module which uses artificial intelligence to detect production anomalies and alert workers so they can investigate or intervene if necessary.
The new FactoryTalk Analytics LogixAI module, formerly known as Project Sherlock, allows industrial workers to easily use the data from their equipment to predict production issues and improve processes with their existing automation and control skill set.
It fits directly into a control chassis and streams controller data over the backplane to build predictive models. It can continuously monitor a production operation, detecting anomalies against its derived understanding.
Jonathan Wise, product manager, Rockwell Automation, said the announcement represents a landmark step in making the power of predictive analytics more accessible to workers, ensuring better decisions and increased safety.
“The FactoryTalk Analytics LogixAI module makes predictive analytics more accessible to help more workers make better production decisions,” Mr Wise said.
“The module learns your ControlLogix application and tells operators and technicians when things are changing in unexpected ways. This can help them get ahead of product quality issues and protect process integrity.”
Mukund, Business Manager, Software, Asia Pacific, Rockwell Automation, said Factory Talk Analytics LogixAI will have positive implications for Asian businesses in any sector.
“By making available data that will assist workers in helping to ensure the smooth running of machinery, our customers can empower employees to troubleshoot and solve problems as they arise, reducing downtime and ultimately contributing positively to the company’s bottom line,” he continued.
“Workers can then be notified of problems by configuring alarms on a human machine interface (HMI) or dashboard. Future features of the module will go further, helping workers focus their problem-solving or automate the optimization of a process.”
The FactoryTalk Analytics LogixAI module, which aggregates multiple sources of data so workers can discover new insights, is the newest addition to the FactoryTalk Analytics platform from Rockwell Automation.
The platform includes FactoryTalk Analytics for Devices, which learns about an automation system’s structure to tell workers about problems with individual devices. The LogixAI module expands on this by learning about an automation system’s application and helping identify anomalies with its overall function.
