AI in the Industry Siemens, Databricks, and FFT Connect Systems with the Cloud

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Siemens, Databricks, and FFT connect manufacturing systems directly to the cloud without requiring complex intermediate steps. This allows industrial companies to analyze data more quickly and deploy AI on a broad scale.

Siemens has entered into a partnership with the data company Databricks and the automation specialist FFT Produktionssysteme. The three companies have developed a solution that enables industrial plants to directly link their production data with cloud-based systems for artificial intelligence (AI). The key technical approach is that the partners eliminate complex software layers for the Internet of Things. This allows plants to analyze data more easily and scale AI applications across all their locations.

Technically, the solution is based on the Siemens Industrial Edge platform. It allows companies to install and manage applications directly on machines in the factory floor. The system connects industrial plants, IT systems, and the cloud. Previously, it was often complicated to format machine data in a way that AI systems could process. With the new integration, a continuous data stream now flows directly from production into the Databricks environment. This is enabled by the Data Bridge application, developed by FFT.

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Run Models Directly on the Machine

On the Databricks platform, companies analyze the collected information. They use the data foundation to train central AI models. Once these models are fully developed, companies deploy them across their global production network. The models then run on the edge platform directly at the production site. Because data processing takes place very close to the machine, the systems respond with very low latency.

"Industrial AI only unfolds its value when data, context, and implementation come together," explains Rainer Brehm, head of operational business for automation at Siemens Digital Industries. "Together with Databricks and FFT, we enable our customers to scale industrial AI across plants and factories and realize AI-driven production." Through this process, companies make decisions based on reliable data, optimize their processes, reduce costs, and increase productivity. According to the developers, this forms the basis for autonomously controlling physical processes in the future.

Close the Gap Between Manufacturing and IT

The Siemens Edge platform provides the infrastructure to make isolated data accessible and execute computationally intensive applications close to the process. In return, Databricks provides the environment for machine learning. This runs independently of the cloud provider and requires minimal proprietary infrastructure. Companies thus implement applications that perform predictive maintenance on systems, ensure quality, regulate energy consumption, or manage supply chains. The use of so-called agent-based AI applications is also planned.

"By combining Siemens' industrial automation and edge expertise with the Databricks platform, we help industrial companies bridge the gap between their production data and scalable business value—across their entire production network," explains Shiv Trisal, who leads the global industrial sector at Databricks. "This partnership is a fundamental step toward making collaboration between humans and AI agents in industrial operations a reality."

The Data Bridge software from FFT serves as a connecting element. FFT processes machine data so that it is immediately ready for AI applications. In the cloud, companies then enrich this information with additional data from corporate IT.