Expanding role of AI

Audi’s use of cutting-edge manufacturing and automation techniques is well known in the automotive industry. Anyone who has visited one of the brand’s manufacturing facilities will have been impressed with the level of efficiency employed, and those who have made multiple visits over time will have seen the constant process of refinement and improvement that is at its very heart.

The brand’s use of artificial intelligence across its production facilities is likewise nothing new, but what is new is the increased scale of its use and the incredible strides it allows in efficiency and quality.

“Artificial intelligence is a quantum leap for efficiency in our production. With our AI and digitalisation roadmap, we are transforming our plants into smart factories where AI acts as a partner, providing our employees with tailored support,” says Gerd Walker, Member of the Board of Management for Production and Logistics at Audi. 

“We are bringing together Audi’s decades of production expertise, our own innovative strength, and the expertise of strong partners such as the Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence (IPAP) in Heilbronn.”

Audi is creating a the next benchmark in fully networked factory automation and at the same time laying the foundation for the widespread use of AI in production with the use of its Edge Cloud 4 Production (EC4P). This system makes it possible to combine conventional automation technology with flexibility and computing power from the cloud, simplifying the process as well as reducing maintenance costs and increasing IT security.

As an example, the move has seen the removal of more than 1000 industrial PCs from German production plants with employees receiving information such as vehicles' specifications or regional versions from a central source in real time.

In the body shop for the A5 and A6 series in Neckarsulm, EC4P is now being used in a highly automated production environment for large-scale series production for the first time. Virtual programmable logic controllers are replacing local hardware controllers on the production lines, with industrial devices, including around 100 robots, working together via the EC4P with millisecond precision. This ultimately allows several hundred vehicle bodies to be manufactured every day in three shifts – currently a benchmark in the industry.

New applications of AI and AI-driven systems are seemingly endless, with new projects being identified and trialled all the time. Be it in the digitised and automated manufacture of a wiring loom, a new AI-based dryer operation in the paint shop or its application to enable greater flexibility and scalability in the use of the Weld Spatter Detection system, the increased use of AI is transforming how things are done at Audi.

To achieve this, Audi is relying on a combination of its own know-how and the expertise of strong partners from industry and science. Within the company, around 60 experts in the Audi Production Lab (P-Lab) and the P-Data Factory are driving new technologies forward – from the initial idea to large-scale production.

Together with Broadcom, Cisco, and Siemens, Audi is implementing the interaction between virtualisation platform, network, and automation technology as part of EC4P.

In addition, the company has been an active partner in the IPAI in Heilbronn, the European hotspot for applied AI, since 2023. These collaborations provide access to the latest developments, start-ups, and talent – and accelerate the transfer of innovations into series production. It’s and exciting time that is seeing changes occurring at unprecedented pace and Audi is at the very forefront of the technology as Gerd Walker points out:

“Together with our partners, we are setting standards for the data-driven production of the future – decisively and responsibly.”