Audi Boosts Efficiency with AI
Source: audi-mediacenter.com
Audi and AI Integration
Audi is using artificial intelligence (AI) in various departments to improve efficiency, quality, and inspiration. The objective is to utilize AI and data potential in company processes, customer experience, services, and products. Currently, AI significantly impacts production and logistics by saving time and money.
According to Gerd Walker, Board Member for Production and Logistics, AI is changing the industry by creating a more efficient and cost-effective production environment that meets quality standards and supports people. Audi is integrating AI where possible and expanding applications, with over 100 AI projects in production facilities.
The primary focus is on AI-supported quality monitoring and generative AI. Audi is also expanding its data organization because production generates hundreds of petabytes of data, with thousands of gigabytes added daily. Walker says that AI helps utilize data in production and accelerates the 360factory toward becoming a data-driven factory.
The 360factory is Audi’s production strategy for connected, innovative, and sustainable manufacturing.
AI Applications in Action
Audi has begun using AI to analyze bids during tendering. The “Tender Toucan” tool uses specifications to create requirements, find relevant sections in bids, and assess fulfillment. Employees verify the tool’s work, saving up to 30 percent of their time. “Tender Toucan” will be used for series production planning of drivetrains and high-voltage batteries in the summer and will be rolled out at Audi and the Volkswagen Group. “Tender Toucan’s” development will serve as a base for other AI applications.
An image processing AI application, “IRIS,” is used at the Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm assembly plants. It uses cameras to ensure that labels with technical data are correctly attached to vehicles, verifying the content, language, component, and position. Employees still perform spot checks, but “IRIS” saves about one minute of production time per vehicle.
Audi and Siemens have introduced “Weld Splatter Detection” (WSD) in the Neckarsulm body shop. The application uses AI to detect weld splatter on vehicle underbodies, which could cause cable breakages. Previously, employees manually inspected and removed the splatter. In summer 2025, a robotic arm will automatically remove the weld splatter. The “WSD” application saves time, improves occupational safety, and enhances ergonomics.
Building an AI Network
Audi has established an AI expert network and collaborates with the IPAI (Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence) in Heilbronn, which is set to become Europe’s largest AI network with a 23-hectare campus. Audi will have an office at the new campus as an IPAI member. The Audi Böllinger Höfe site, a location for small series production, acts as a real-world laboratory for digital production technologies as part of AI25 (Automotive Initiative 2025), which is an innovation network for digital transformation.