Rockwell & Microsoft bolster collaboration for industry AI

Rockwell Automation and Microsoft have expanded their strategic collaboration to deliver advanced cloud and AI solutions aimed at accelerating industrial transformation.

This partnership combines Rockwell's industrial automation expertise with Microsoft's technologies to enhance efficiency, scalability, and sustainability for manufacturers. At the Automation Fair held from 18-21 November in Anaheim, California, the collaboration demonstrated solutions such as Azure IoT Operations and FactoryTalk Optix. These solutions are designed to enable smarter operations and improve data insights for manufacturers.

An AI-powered tool, FactoryTalk Design Studio Copilot, was highlighted during the event. This tool simplifies system design through natural language prompts, further showcasing the blend of Rockwell's industrial experience with Microsoft's AI capabilities.

Jessica Korpela, Director of Global Customer Innovation at Rockwell Automation, expressed enthusiasm about the strengthened partnership. "We are excited to strengthen our partnership with Microsoft as we work to meet the evolving challenges faced by today's manufacturers," she said. "This enhanced collaboration fuses cloud and AI technologies with our extensive expertise in industrial automation, enabling our customers to reach unprecedented levels of efficiency, innovation and resilience in their operations."

In a further development, Microsoft introduced its Azure IoT Operations solution, integrated with Rockwell's offerings, such as FactoryTalk Optix. This solution allows manufacturers to harvest critical insights while reducing the need for extensive retrofitting. By facilitating the integration of shop-floor data with cloud-based applications, manufacturers can enhance analytics and scalability across various environments, thereby gaining actionable insights to optimise production.

Rockwell has also upgraded its FactoryTalk Design Studio software with a new Generative AI Copilot feature, created in partnership with Microsoft. Using Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, this tool enables engineers to perform tasks like product guidance, code generation, and troubleshooting through natural language inputs. This facilitates a more intuitive system design process, accessible via web browsers without the need for downloads or installations.

Additionally, the collaboration has resulted in the introduction of Rockwell's FT Optix Food & Beverage model into the Microsoft AI model catalogue. Leveraging Microsoft's Phi-3 small language models, this adapted AI model provides machine operators with AI-guided instructions to enhance process and device operations through the FactoryTalk Optix interface. Such guidance aims to boost productivity, minimise errors, and speed up decision-making.

Kam VedBrat, General Manager of Azure IoT at Microsoft, commented on the continued collaboration, stating: "We are thrilled to continue our work with Rockwell Automation to help customers accelerate their industrial transformation journey. By combining Rockwell's industry-leading automation solutions with Microsoft Azure IoT Operations, and through our collaboration on an adapted AI model based on Phi-3, we are enabling customers to unlock new levels of efficiency and innovation."

The strategic partnership promises significant benefits for manufacturers by addressing the challenges of a rapidly evolving industrial landscape. The advanced digital solutions developed through this collaboration seek to drive greater efficiency, reduce operational costs, and enhance productivity, thereby helping organisations to fully realise their digital transformation ambitions.