Automatic PLC Code Generation Core Features Overview
Industrial Copilot, a groundbreaking product introduced by Siemens in the industrial sector, is an innovative tool integrated with generative artificial intelligence technology. Deeply integrated with the Siemens TIA Portal platform, it provides users with a comprehensive automation solution. This AI assistant not only significantly reduces the time required for complex automation code generation but also reduces the workload of engineering teams through automated virtual tasks and PLC code construction. This ensures the precision of complex engineering designs and significantly enhances the efficiency and product quality of the entire development cycle.
From Concept to Reality: First Industrial-Grade Generative AI Product Implemented
At the Hannover Messe Industrial Fair in 2024, Siemens showcased its first generative artificial intelligence product designed for industrial engineering - Industrial Copilot. This AI assistant, deeply integrated with Siemens TIA Portal system, successfully generates basic virtual tasks and code for Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), automating a significant portion of repetitive work. This, in turn, reduces pressure on engineering teams and improves the quality and accuracy of engineering designs.
Evolution from Concept to Scalable Application
As early as the Hannover Messe Industrial Fair in 2023, Siemens and Microsoft outlined the future vision of generative AI assistants. This vision involved integrating automation and process simulation information from the open digital business platform Siemens Xcelerator into Industrial Copilot. Simultaneously, with the help of advanced large language models from Microsoft Azure OpenAI services, Industrial Copilot made breakthrough progress in code creation and optimization for factory automation software.
At the SPS Exhibition (Germany's Nuremberg International Trade Fair for Industrial Automation and Components) in the fall of 2023, Siemens, in collaboration with Schaeffler, showcased the first enhanced production equipment featuring generative artificial intelligence technology. Subsequently, at the 2024 Hannover Messe Industrial Fair, Siemens officially released the first generative AI product aimed at engineering applications, marking the transition of this technology from the theoretical stage to scalable practical application.
Empowering Industrial Transformation: Case Studies and User Feedback
Grenzebach Group, an industrial automation solutions provider and an exemplary small and medium-sized enterprise actively involved in generative AI applications, has embraced Siemens Industrial Copilot. Dr. Steven Althaus, CEO of Grenzebach Group, stated, "Generative artificial intelligence has become a key factor in enterprise competitiveness." Through collaboration with Siemens, Grenzebach Group can fully utilize data resources from industrial sites, improve human-machine collaboration, effectively address the shortage of technical talent, accelerate technological innovation, and significantly enhance production efficiency.
Siemens Industrial Copilot: A New Dimension in Engineering Design
[Integrated with TIA Portal, Enhancing Engineering Design Capabilities]
Siemens Industrial Copilot is specifically optimized for engineering design with TIA Portal, capable of generating code using Structured Control Language (SCL). This enables the TIA Portal platform to directly access AI-generated code suggestions, eliminating the tedious manual copy-paste steps. Additionally, this AI assistant can interpret SCL code modules, guiding users to easily create virtual machines or factory models in the WinCC Unified environment. It's worth mentioning that engineers can greatly improve their efficiency by using natural language search in Siemens official manuals. To ensure data security, customers can choose to access dedicated Azure OpenAI service instances to avoid using customer data for model retraining.
【Industrial Artificial Intelligence Leading Industrial Upgrades】
Siemens ingeniously introduces industrial-grade generative artificial intelligence into practical workshop scenarios through Industrial Copilot, poised to become an indispensable component in engineering processes in the future. Seamlessly integrated with TIA Portal, Siemens leads the way, offering generative artificial intelligence products tailored for engineering design to industrial enterprises worldwide. As Rainer Brehm, CEO of Siemens Digital Industries Factory Automation, puts it, industrial artificial intelligence is gradually becoming a bridge between the real and digital worlds, effectively alleviating the shortage of technical talent, significantly improving industrial production efficiency, and strongly promoting the achievement of sustainable development goals.
Looking Ahead: AI-Driven Industrial Assistants Across the Value Chain
Siemens is fully committed to launching a complete series of AI-driven industrial assistants across all aspects of its business value chain, aiming to assist enterprises in achieving comprehensive transformation and upgrading in design, planning, development, engineering implementation, and work methods. Currently, Siemens is actively promoting the application of generative artificial intelligence assistant solutions with several pilot customers and strategic partners in various fields such as automotive manufacturing, infrastructure construction, transportation, medical equipment, general manufacturing, and mechanical engineering.
In summary, Siemens Industrial Copilot, designed for diverse scenarios including design, planning, engineering, operation, and service, will further streamline human-machine interactions, making them faster and more efficient. In the process of automation industry development, Siemens Industrial Copilot and the generative artificial intelligence technology it represents not only innovate traditional industrial engineering design methods but also indicate a development direction full of opportunities and challenges for the entire industry. Future industrial automation will increasingly rely on these cutting-edge technologies, continuously driving the intelligent upgrading of industries, bringing higher production efficiency, lower error rates, and more flexible and agile business response capabilities, ultimately contributing to a greener, smarter, and more efficient sustainable development model for the global economy.