Advanced AI Applications for Industry

Siemens has announced the launch of a new range of industrial PCs (IPCs) equipped with graphics processors from Nvidia. Together with an expanded artificial intelligence (AI) offering, which is part of the Industrial Operations X portfolio, these IPCs will accelerate industrial AI applications. This represents another milestone in the strategic partnership between Siemens and Nvidia, which started in June 2022.

Siemens now offers a scalable computing portfolio for high-performance industrial applications - from rugged industrial PCs to industrial edge computing. By integrating the complete package of an Nvidia accelerated computing platform, Siemens' IPCs can handle complex AI tasks in advanced industrial automation, such as AI-based robotics, quality control, predictive maintenance and operational optimization.

The new offering is designed to accelerate AI execution on the shop floor by 25x when using Siemens' integrated hardware and software - powered by Nvidia AI and Accelerated Computing. This is designed to help reduce production costs and shorten time to market for customers. "Customers need high-performance, industrial-grade systems for their digital transformation. Our new industrial PCs enable AI-based applications at the highest level," says Rainer Brehm, CEO Factory Automation at Siemens. "And with Industrial Operations X, we are making the latest advances in industrial AI accessible to companies of all sizes."

Rev Lebaredian, Vice President of Omniverse and Simulation Technology at Nvidia, says: "Siemens' leading portfolio of industrial automation solutions is becoming even more powerful with our Accelerated Computing and AI technologies. It enables manufacturers worldwide to reach new dimensions of digitalization and achieve incredible efficiency and agility.”

Boost AI applications in manufacturing with Industrial Operations X

With the increasing integration of AI and image processing solutions in industrial automation, Siemens and NVIDIA want to give automation engineers access to AI capabilities without the need for extensive programming knowledge. This will further democratize access to these advanced technologies. In addition to no-code tools for integrating, managing and executing industrial AI solutions, the Industrial Operations X portfolio also includes ready-to-use AI applications.

For example, Simatic Robot Pick AI, accelerated by Nvidia, enables OT users with no AI knowledge to create AI-driven piece picking robot solutions for critical warehouse automation requirements. In addition, the Siemens Industrial Copilot for Operations, based on NVIDIA NIM Microservices, runs completely locally and enables automation and maintenance engineers to query operational and document data in real time to make quick decisions and reduce machine downtime.

Complete range of Siemens IPCs with Nvidia technologies

The newly launched Siemens IPCs are Nvidia-certified systems. This means they are ready to run the numerous applications developed with Nvidia NIM Microservices and edge AI frameworks such as Isaac ROS, Holoscan and Metropolis. The IPCs are designed to meet the stringent requirements of industrial environments and withstand harsh industrial conditions. At the same time, they are very compact to ensure reliability and durability.

The new devices include the Simatic BX-35A embedded IPC, a powerful and compact device based on NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX systems-on-modules (SoMs) for high-performance AI calculations in a low-power and fanless design. Other NVIDIA-based devices include Simatic IPC RW-545A (high-performance workstation), Simatic IPC RS-828A (high-performance server for production data centers) and Simatic IPC BX-59A (high-performance modular box PC).

The Simatic IPC BX-59A offers a comprehensive end-to-end solution for seamless and high-performance AI integration, management and execution in industrial environments. Together with Siemens' newly released rugged, GPU-accelerated AI Inference Server based on NVIDIA's Triton™ Inference Server, customers can deploy and run AI models in industrial environments without any programming knowledge.

By combining the GPU-accelerated AI Inference Server with the Simatic BX-59A as an edge device, Siemens has measured a 25-fold acceleration of AI execution in manufacturing. All Simatic IPCs can be ordered with the Siemens operating system Simatic Industrial OS, a real-time operating system based on Debian that comes pre-installed with the Nvidia AI software and enables fast implementation of AI applications.