Rockwell Automation, a manufacturer of industrial automation and digital transformation products, is working with
Microsoft to offer clients the next generation of advanced cloud and artificial intelligence solutions.
Rockwell has expanded its software-as-a-service design software with a new generative AI copilot developed in partnership with Microsoft.
The AI copilot allows engineers to use natural language prompts for tasks like product guidance, code generation, troubleshooting and code explanations, making system design faster.
Microsoft has also integrated its Azure IoT Operations with some of Rockwell’s digital offerings, including FactoryTalk Optix (a data visualization software). This combined solution will allow manufacturers and production companies to capture critical insights from existing sites without extensive retrofitting.
"We are excited to strengthen our partnership with Microsoft as we work to meet the evolving challenges faced by today’s manufacturers,” said
Jessica Korpela, director, global customer innovation at Rockwell Automation. “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.”
Microsoft is currently building out the first phase of a $3.3 billion data center campus in Mount Pleasant that will be used to support the company’s cloud services and have a special emphasis on AI.
The data center will be used as
a resource for the entire business community, according to
Balamurugan Balakreshnan, chief artificial intelligence officer/architect for Microsoft.
Specifically, the data center will allow every Wisconsin company to build their own digital twin.
A digital twin is a virtual representation of a physical asset, system, or process that can be used to simulate, monitor, and optimize its performance.
Rockwell has also recently
expanded its ongoing partnership with Santa Clara, California-based semiconductor designer
Nvidia. Both companies are working to “evolve the manufacturing industry” by increasing the scale and scope of AI in manufacturing.
