Dive Brief:
- AI pioneer Andrew Ng created a new startup, Landing.ai, to bring automation and intelligence to manufacturers, reports Wired. Because there is insufficient AI talent within the manufacturing industry, Ng wants Landing.ai to bring a consultant-like service to customers outside the tech industry.
- Services of the startup include software to search for circuit board issues and ML for equipment configurations such as "injection-molding machines to improve quality."
- Each service is designed custom for clients, though Ng said there are tools that can be overlapped. Thus far, Foxconn is the only company publicly known to use Landing.ai.
Dive Insight:
Those still afraid of AI replacing jobs can be rest-assured that about two million new jobs are set to open by 2025, and service models such as Ng's are projected to assist about one-fifth of all employees by 2022.
AI is becoming an industry of its own, and it is no longer just tech companies that benefit from the digital intelligence. AI and automation specifically target routine workloads, so employees can be "freed from mental drudgery," according to Ng. This is of particular importance to manufacturers.
ML and sensors deployed on machinery allow workers to see real-time inefficiencies so they can adjust equipment accordingly, McKinsey and Company reports. Technicians are relieved of physical status inspections, so they can better spend their time problem solving. This is also true of field workers who rely on real-time updates to reduce response times.
With AI, manufacturers, supply chains and other businesses worldwide are expected to have "collaborative agility" and interconnectedness that was far more difficult without AI.
