The Industrial Copilot will be integrated into Schaeffler’s production facilities
Industrial Copilot is easy to use, fast and efficient to optimize engineering design and support production operations
Industrial Copilot helps solve the technical labor shortage

Siemens is using generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology to help industrial companies improve efficiency and accelerate innovation throughout the full life cycle of product design, manufacturing, and recycling. At the 2023 Nuremberg International Industrial Automation and Components Fair (SPS) in Germany, Siemens and automotive supplier Schaeffler demonstrated the first production equipment equipped with the Industrial Copilot, a generative artificial intelligence assistance tool.

Improve work efficiency: Input natural language, generate automated code

FOXBORO-CP40B

The AI assistance tool Industrial Copilot connects to Siemens’ engineering framework TIA Portal Openness via an open API to help engineers deal with a variety of automation-related issues. The Industrial Copilot will help Schaeffler’s automation engineers speed up PLC code programming and generate code with only natural language input, saving engineering teams significant time and reducing error rates.

With the continuous advancement of automation and digital transformation in industrial enterprises, the demand for automation engineers is also increasing. Industrial Copilot automates repetitive tasks to save engineering resources for high-value work. The AI-assisted tool can also help less experienced shop floor employees accelerate their development into engineering technicians.

“Digital transformation is a top priority for Schaeffler and plays an important role in the company’s strategy. The next generation of AI solutions, exemplified by Industrial Copilot, will help us accelerate our digital transformation and better empower our employees.” Klaus Rosenfeld, CEO of Schaeffler, said: “We and Siemens are technology companies and share the same corporate vision, which is to transform production operations with technology. That’s why we chose to partner with Siemens.”

Find and correct errors: Reduce equipment downtime

With access to all documentation and instructions related to equipment and technology, Siemens Industrial Copilot effectively helps shop floor workers identify potential errors, while empowering maintenance teams to quickly identify problems and generate solutions. This will go a long way towards reducing equipment downtime and improving business efficiency, thereby contributing to sustainable development.

“This marks the dawn of a new era. In the past, we had to talk to machines through machine language. Today, with the Siemens Industrial Copilot, we can talk directly to the machine.” Cedrik Neike, member of the Board of Management of Siemens AG and CEO of Siemens Digital Industries, said: “I believe that AI technology will be ubiquitous in industry in just a few years. As an industry pioneer, Siemens and Schaeffler have jointly created generative AI AIDS that will lead the way in the development of artificial intelligence technology in the industrial sector.”

Industrial Copilot will be able to optimize engineering design and production operations throughout the life cycle, making human-computer interaction faster, more intuitive, and more efficient at all stages of design, validation, functional testing, operational monitoring, and equipment performance optimization.