Rise of the machines

As anyone who has taken the factory tour in Ingolstadt will already know, computer controlled high precision robots and machine learning are nothing new in Audi’s production facilities worldwide. A study in precision and attention to detail, Audi’s production facilities worldwide set the standard in their combination of human craftsmanship and leading-edge technology, from the ergonomic working arrangements for personal to the seamless movement of vehicles through the whole production process. 

But now with the targeted use of artificial intelligence (AI), the brand is achieving even greater gains in efficiency and cost-effectiveness across not only production and logistics but also in customer experience.

“AI is the game changer in our industry,” says Gerd Walker, Member of the Board of Management for Production and Logistics.

“By using it in a targeted way, we are creating a production environment that is not only more efficient and cost-effective but that also meets the highest quality standards and supports people as ideally as possible.”

At the moment, Audi uses more than 100 AI projects in various stages of development across its production facilities, with the focus primarily on AI-supported quality monitoring and generative AI. The effective implementation of AI in various capacities all comes down to data, or more accurately, enough data. 

With hundreds of petabytes of data already in hand and thousands of gigabytes of new data created every day, the potential of this ‘data density’ is immense according to Walker:

“Artificial intelligence enables us to make more extensive use of our enormous wealth of data in production and accelerates the journey of our 360factory towards becoming a data-driven factory.” The 360factory is Audi’s production strategy for fully connected, innovative, and sustainable manufacturing.

The applications of AI are many and varied, from being used to sort through bids in the tendering process, to checking for weld spatter on the underside of vehicles travelling and guiding a robotic arm to remove it if detected. Another AI application called ‘IRIS’ is being employed in both Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm plants to to check whether labels with technical data are correctly attached to the vehicle. Using cameras, IRIS ensures that the label with the right content in the right language is attached to the right component in the right position. And while employees continue to carry on set checks, they are spared this essential yet tedious and repetitive task. The weld spatter detection system too, not only carries out an essential task and saving time in production, but also improves occupational safety and ergonomics for employees.

AI is making a big difference in myriad small ways.

To make the most of artificial intelligence, Audi has built a strong network of experts in the field including working closely with the IPAI (Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence) in Heilbronn. 

Acknowledged as Europe’s largest AI network, the IPAI will begin constructing a 23-hectare campus this year, with Audi occupying its own office on the site given its status as a member of the think tank. The Audi Böllinger Höfe site, where the Audi RS e-tron GT is produced is located near the proposed site of the technology campus close to the Böllinger Höfe site. This Audi location for small series production serves as a real-world laboratory for digital production technologies as part of AI25 (Automotive Initiative 2025), an innovation network for digital transformation in the automotive industry.

Of course these measures are just the tip of the AI iceberg, with new applications being identified all of the time. Given Audi’s approach of looking at manufacturing as a whole – from the individual employee to the fully automated production cycle – the use of AI will increasingly be employed to help streamline the process.

“We are focusing on integrating AI wherever it is possible and makes sense and systematically expanding applications,” says Gerd Walker.

Wherever an area is identified that AI will help with efficiency or to remove difficult and repetitive tasks from the brand’s skilled workforce, it can only help to make the Audi product even better.