Cutting-edge AI and IoT solutions for the digital age

February 2024 IT in Manufacturing

Convergence Partners company, inq. has announced a value proposition involving extensive edge artificial intelligence and IoT, together with the Edgedock data insights, to transform business operations across a wide range of sectors. The integrated offering combines edge computing with AI to bring real-time data processing and intelligent decision making to the forefront of South African businesses.

The suite includes:

• Vision AI to provide advanced video analytics powered by AI and machine learning.

• Doc AI that uses area-specific deep learning optical character recognition to upload scanned documents or images of any type, and extract the required fields to map them into a spreadsheet or database.

• Software development that custom develops solutions and products for clients to enhance business operations.

For its part, Edgedock provides powerful AI and software solutions to help organisations address their security and digitisation challenges. The solutions in this stable are powered by machine learning, AI, robotic process automation, cloud computing and edge computing.

“These solutions represent a significant leap in technological innovation, tailored to meet the unique challenges and opportunities of the South African market,” says Ralph Berndt, sales and marketing director at inq. SA. “We are committed to empowering businesses with real-time insights and intelligent automation, driving efficiency, and fostering growth in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. Our edge AI and IoT solutions provide organisations with the means to affect real change in their environments by harnessing the power of AI and data analytics at scale. We enable businesses to stay ahead in a competitive global environment.”

Further reading:

Even in autonomous systems, human insight is important
Schneider Electric South Africa IT in Manufacturing
As AI, IIoT and digital twins reshape industrial operations, Schneider Electric’s Kobus Vermeulen and Bafana Msibi argue that the operator’s role is shifting from controlling equipment to interpreting intelligence, validating AI recommendations and making decisions that improve

Read more...

---

AI-based quality inspection scales across P&G operations
Siemens South Africa IT in Manufacturing
Siemens and Procter & Gamble are expanding an AI-based visual inspection system across P&G’s manufacturing operations worldwide, inspecting products in real time at full line speed, and reducing scrap rates by 10 to 20% depending on the product.

Read more...

---

How sustainability unlocks real business impact
Rockwell Automation IT in Manufacturing
Sustainability has moved from a compliance obligation to a strategic driver of resilience and value for manufacturers. Rockwell Automation explains how its Triple A framework and connected-data approach help producers cut energy, water and waste while improving productivity.

Read more...

---

Mining’s AI future will depend on people as well as technology
IT in Manufacturing
South Africa’s mining industry is embracing digitalisation and AI, but AvenirHoldings chief executive officer, Tshidi Mndzebele says the real test is whether the people behind the industry are equipped to move forward with it, and outlines five things mining needs to get right.

Read more...

---

How BIC overcame operational silos to integrate technology and people
Rockwell Automation IT in Manufacturing
Manufacturing giant BIC deployed Plex MES from Rockwell Automation at its Bizerte plant in Tunisia, replacing fragmented, partly in-house software with a single cloud-based execution system that broke operational silos and improved shop-floor visibility.

Read more...

---

AI in industry is an early warning system, not a guarantee
Schneider Electric South Africa IT in Manufacturing
Schneider Electric’s Paul Steyn argues that AI in industrial maintenance is only as good as the infrastructure and people behind it, and explains the three layers a facility needs before predictive maintenance can deliver on its promise.

Read more...

---

SA’s mining industry must put people at the heart of its digital future
IT in Manufacturing
South Africa’s mining industry employs around 470 000 people while its digital transition accelerates. Avenir’s chief executive officer, Tshidi Mndzebele argues that technology should enable and upskill the workforce rather than replace it, setting out five ways mining can make technology work for its people.

Read more...

---

Quality control supports efficient tissue production
Valmet South Africa IT in Manufacturing
Valmet’s advanced quality control technology is helping tissue producers improve product consistency while reducing energy and raw material consumption. Its latest installation at KORO Paper in Vietnam combines real-time measurement, process optimisation and non-contact, nuclear-free quality control.

Read more...

---

Patented algorithm maximises operator efficiency
Rockwell Automation IT in Manufacturing
Rockwell Automation piloted a patented anomaly detection algorithm and FactoryTalk DataMosaix at its Twinsburg electronics plant, giving operators 30 to 60 days’ advance warning of stencil failure, improving fail rates by 22% and achieving a 200% return on investment.

Read more...

---

Cybersecurity must become part of the next era of industrial automation
Adroit Technologies IT in Manufacturing
The EU’s Cyber Resilience Act is setting a global benchmark for connected products, making cybersecurity a core engineering requirement in industrial automation. Adroit Technologies and Mitsubishi Electric explain how building security into controllers, PLCs and drives from the outset helps South African manufacturers protect production and meet international expectations.

Read more...

---