Siemens has partnered with Microsoft to launch Siemens Industrial Copilot, a generative AI-assisted tool designed to enhance human-machine collaboration and increase productivity
The two companies will work together to create more AI-assisted tools for manufacturing, infrastructure, transportation and healthcare
Automotive supplier Schaeffler was one of the first companies to adopt Siemens’ Industrial Copilot
In addition, Siemens’ Teamcenter app, which is deeply compatible with Microsoft Teams, will be fully available in December 2023 and will accelerate innovation throughout the product lifecycle
Microsoft and Siemens are deepening their partnership to enable industries around the world to share the fruits of generative AI innovation. As a first step, the two companies will launch Siemens Industrial Copilot, a jointly developed AI-assisted tool designed to enhance human-machine collaboration in manufacturing. In addition, the integration of Siemens’ Teamcenter product lifecycle management software with Microsoft Teams will further pave the way for the construction of an industrial metaverse. It will simplify virtual collaboration between design engineers, front-line staff, and other teams across business functions.
“Our shared vision with Microsoft is to apply generative AI to empower customers.” Roland Busch, CEO of Siemens AG, said: “This has the potential to revolutionise the way companies design, develop, manufacture and operate. “Broader human-machine collaboration can help engineers speed up code development, increase innovation and address the shortage of skilled workers.”
“The new generation of AI technology creates a rare opportunity for us to accelerate innovation in the industrial sector.” Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO of Microsoft, said: “Building on our long-standing partnership with Siemens, we are combining the AI achievements of Microsoft Cloud with Siemens’ Industrial expertise, starting with Siemens Industrial Copilot, to empower frontline workers and knowledge workers with new AI-driven tools.”
A new era of human-machine collaboration
With Siemens Industrial Copilot, users will be able to quickly generate, optimize and debug complex automated code, and significantly reduce simulation time to complete tasks that previously took weeks in minutes. Industrial Copilot draws automation and process simulation information from the Siemens Xcelerator open digital business platform and leverages Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI service to enhance users’ data capabilities. The customer has complete control over their own data, which is not used to train the underlying AI model.
Siemens Industrial Copilot is committed to improving productivity and efficiency throughout the entire industrial life cycle. With natural language, maintenance personnel can get detailed repair instructions, and engineers can quickly access simulation tools.
Vision: AI-assisted tools to serve various industries
In the vision envisioned by Siemens and Microsoft, AI-assisted tools will help professionals in various industries, including manufacturing, infrastructure, transportation, and healthcare. At present, a large number of AI-assisted tools are planned to be put into use in manufacturing fields such as automobiles, consumer goods packaging and machinery manufacturing.
Automotive supplier Schaeffler AG was one of the first companies in the automotive industry to adopt generative AI at the engineering design stage. This helps its engineers generate reliable code to program industrial automation systems such as robots. In addition, the company plans to apply Siemens Industrial Copilot in its own operations to significantly reduce downtime and provide service to customers at a later stage.
Klaus Rosenfeld, CEO of Schaeffler Group, said: “With this joint pilot, we are entering a new phase of productivity and innovation. Siemens Industrial Copilot will help our teams work more efficiently, reduce repetitive tasks and unleash creativity. We are delighted to be working with Siemens and Microsoft on this project.”
Generative AI facilitates virtual collaboration
To take virtual collaboration between Teams to the next level, Siemens’ Teamcenter app, deeply compatible with Microsoft Teams, will be fully available in December 2023. The new app leverages the latest advances in generative artificial intelligence to enable the convergence of functions across the product design and manufacturing lifecycle. It integrates Siemens’ Teamcenter product lifecycle management (PLM) software with Microsoft’s Teams collaboration platform to facilitate data access for factory front-line workers and engineering teams. Thanks to this, millions of workers who currently do not have access to PLM tools will be able to more easily contribute to design and manufacturing processes in their daily work.
