Earlier this year, I covered Siemens and Microsoft – two megacompanies making massive cross-industry waves – and their collaboration on generative AI that helps businesses become more effective through AI-enhanced product lifecycle management (PLM). At that time, a member of the Managing Board of Siemens AG said, “Powerful, advanced AI is emerging as one of the most important technologies for digital transformation.”
That statement still rings true, and it’s an appropriate segue into the latest developments from these companies.
Today is a somewhat snowy Halloween for many of us, and it also marks another big announcement between Siemens and Microsoft: The two are deepening their already fruitful partnership by bringing more benefits of generative AI (GenAI) to industries around the world.
This is happening through two main plans of action. The first introduces Siemens Industrial Copilot, a jointly developed AI-powered assistant designed for improving human-machine collaboration in manufacturing. (i.e. in line with my previous coverage on Industrial IoT News.) The second involves the official launch of the integration between Siemens Teamcenter software for PLM and Microsoft Teams, which we knew was coming during Q3 or Q4 of this year. (And here we are.) This robust integration, according to Microsoft, “will further pave the way to enabling the industrial metaverse while simplifying virtual collaboration of design engineers, frontline workers, and other teams across business functions.”
This certainly looks and sounds like the Siemens-Microsoft follow-up we were looking for. You’ll find more details below:
- Siemens Industrial Copilot will allow users to quickly generate, optimize, and debug complex automation code, thus significantly shortening simulation times and reducing a previously time-consuming task down to one that takes minutes, instead. Users maintain full control over their data (i.e. it isn’t used to train any underlying AI models), and Siemens promises it will boost productivity and efficiency across the industry lifecycle. “Using natural language,” as mentioned in the announcement, “maintenance staff can be assisted with detailed repair instructions, and engineers with quick access to simulation tools.” The companies envision this will assist greatly professionals in manufacturing, infrastructure, transportation, healthcare, automotive, and elsewhere.
- Teamcenter for Microsoft Teams will be generally available towards the end of this year (targeted for December). As a whole new app, the latest advances in GenAI can connect functions across the PLM lifecycle to further support frontline workers, engineering teams, etc. It connects Siemens’ Teamcenter software for PLM to Microsoft Teams to make data much more accessible for factory and field service workers. This is expected to enable millions of workers (who lack access to vital PLM tools) to contribute to processes more easily. The accessibility, made possible by GenAI, will make a significant difference.
“Together with Microsoft, our shared vision is to empower customers with the adoption of generative AI,” says Roland Busch, CEO of Siemens AG. “This has the potential to revolutionize the way companies design, develop, manufacture, and operate. Making human-machine collaboration more widely available allows engineers to accelerate code development, increase innovation and tackle skilled labor shortages.”
Siemens has stated it will share more details regarding Siemens Industrial Copilot in November. Overall, as the next generation of AI expands, these solutions are set to empower experts with new GenAI-powered resources that make a real difference for entire sectors.
Edited by
Alex Passett
