Rockwell Automation and Microsoft today announced the expansion of their long-term partnership to accelerate industrial automation design and development through generative artificial intelligence (AI). The two companies will combine their respective technical expertise to empower industrial automation system manufacturers to improve their workforces and reduce time to market. The first result of this partnership is the integration of Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI services into Rockwell Automation’s FactoryTalk® Design Studio™, an industry-leading technology that helps manufacturers of industrial automation systems get their products to market faster.

“The shortage of skilled workers and the consequent loss of productivity is a major challenge currently facing industrial companies and their service providers. These shortfalls can increase the demand, cost and complexity of automation projects if the ecosystem of service providers cannot deliver projects on time and on budget with quality.” According to Matthew Littlefield, President of LNS Research, “Generative AI has proven its ability to capture the imagination and increase employee productivity in a wide variety of IT and business scenarios. Rockwell’s strategic partnership with Microsoft is an exciting and promising step forward in addressing these long-term structural challenges.”

Rockwell and Microsoft realized that AI could be applied to increase the level of automation in different roles, from decision makers to control engineers and operators, and that this was a key area where together they could help customers streamline processes and increase employee productivity.

“Rockwell’s decade-long partnership with Microsoft demonstrates our continued commitment to delivering exceptional solutions designed not only to empower customers, but also to support our shared vision of advancing the industry with innovation and collaboration.” “The two companies are not limited to addressing today’s market needs, but are also committed to shaping the technologies of the future in industrial automation,” said Blake Moret, chairman and CEO of Rockwell.

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The integration of Azure OpenAI services into FactoryTalk Design Studio helps engineers generate code using natural language prompts to automate everyday tasks and improve design efficiency. This feature will also help senior engineers speed up the development process and guide newcomers in the learning phase more efficiently and effectively. In addition, it can find useful content from the vast amount of information to provide further training for developers. Rockwell and Microsoft also see a bright future in scaling this integrated technology to address other challenges, such as for quality management and improvement, failure mode analysis, and front-line manufacturing worker training (through chat collaboration with veteran workers and Azure OpenAI-based chatbots).

“The explosive growth and popularity of AI has attracted more and more enterprises to partner with Microsoft and see us as a trusted provider of cloud technology and AI.” Judson Althoff, Executive vice president and Chief Business Officer at Microsoft, said: “We are excited to further strengthen our long-term partnership with Rockwell, combining Rockwell’s industrial automation expertise with Microsoft’s generative AI technology. To help industrial workers accelerate the construction of complex control systems, optimize operational efficiency and drive greater innovation in industrial enterprises.”

In addition, Rockwell and Microsoft continue to explore ways to accelerate innovation in the industrial meta-universe. The companies will use their IoT capabilities, cloud datasets, simulation tools and AI technologies to design and build products in a more effective, efficient and sustainable way.

The results of the collaboration were also showcased at Rockwell Automation 2023 (November 6-9) in Boston, Massachusetts.