At automatica, the leading trade show for automation and robotics, engineering giant Siemens is set to reveal plans to integrate its Operations Copilot into driverless transport systems and mobile robots. The Operations Copilot is an industrial copilot for machine operation and maintenance.
As mobile transport robots increasingly operate as autonomous physical agents powered by artificial intelligence (AI), the Operations Copilot will serve as a user interface for humans.
Through this agent-based interface, users will be able to configure autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and automated guided vehicles (AGVs), assigning them tasks like transporting materials and goods across the shop floor.
This is yet another building block for automating automation in a factory with the help of generative AI.
Enhanced Operations Copilot
In a next step, Siemens plans to expand the capabilities of the Operations Copilot by introducing AI agents specifically developed for use with AMRs and AGVs. These agents support both the commissioning and operation of individual vehicles and entire fleets.
Commissioning in particular is a complex and time-intensive process: AGVs need to be integrated into the factory’s existing IT and OT infrastructure and configured for specific conditions like routes and transfer stations.
To streamline this task, engineers can rely on the Operations Copilot: it leverages AGV sensors and cameras to generate a detailed understanding of their environment.
The Operations Copilot can access all relevant technical documentation of the installed components and retrieve real-time system data through its agent interface. This enables commissioning engineers and operators to work more efficiently, resolve issues faster, and ensure rapid deployment.
Rainer Brehm, CEO of factory automation at Siemens, says: “By integrating both physical and virtual AI agents into our Operations Copilot, we’re unlocking a new dimension of interaction between humans, robotics, and AI.
“This enables our customers to deploy autonomous transport systems more quickly, operate them efficiently, and enhance safety – bringing us one step closer to a fully autonomous factory.”
New Safe Velocity software enhances safety on the shop floor
AGVs are equipped with navigation and sensor technologies, that allow them to move safely and reliably through production and intralogistics environments – with no direct human intervention. When people or objects appear in their path, AGVs automatically slow down, stop, or navigate around these obstacles.
Siemens’ new software solution, Safe Velocity, enables the fail-safe monitoring of vehicle speed, which permits the protective fields of safety laser scanners to be dynamically adjusted in real time.
The TÜV-certified software is compatible with the hardware and software from a variety of AGV manufacturers and enhances existing safety systems to meet stringent industrial safety standards. Safe Velocity reduces the need for additional safety hardware.
This simplifies system architecture, saves valuable vehicle space, lowers engineering complexity, and minimizes cabling requirements – without compromising functional safety.
