Audi has started using artificial ielligence to check the quality of spot welds (a type of connection between metal parts) in the construction of its car bodies. They had already tested this system in a successful project at the Neckarsulm site, and now because of this, they are starting to use the technology more widely in their factories.
According to Hoshio, the Volkswagen Group, including Audi, will install artificial ielligence technical infrastructure at its other three sites by the end of the year. The project is part of a larger initiative called Automotive 2025, which focuses on the use of artificial ielligence in the automotive industry. This project was launched by Audi.
Audi uses artificial ielligence to check the quality of spot welds (which are a type of joi in metalworking) in its cars at the Neckarsulm site. Previously, workers had to use ultrasonic waves to manually check about 5,000 welds per vehicle, but now AI can analyze about 1.5 million weld spots in 300 cars per shift. In this way, employees can focus only on poteial problems that AI detects, making it easier for them to ensure high quality vehicles. Audi says that the use of artificial ielligence will help them to corol the quality of their products more effectively and efficiely.
In addition, Volkswagen Group is preparing to use this technology in its other factories. They have already begun preparations to install AI technical infrastructure at one pla, Audi Brussels, and two other plas, the Volkswagen pla in Emden and the Audi headquarters in Ingolstadt, will soon install the necessary AI infrastructure.
A team of experts is installing the technical infrastructure to use artificial ielligence at some sites and is also ideifying differences in welding settings. Experts use this information to retrain the artificial ielligence model so that it can better ideify any problems in the welding process. For example, Audi’s team is investigating how to use this data for predictive maienance, which means ideifying poteial problems before they happen and fixing them early in production.
Experts are currely installing the necessary computer systems for the use of artificial ielligence in certain sites of the Volkswagen Group. However, each site may have differe welding settings, so experts are ideifying these differences to adjust the AI system accordingly. Data generated through the use of artificial ielligence can be used to improve other processes in the future. Currely, Audi’s team is using this data for predictive maienance, meaning they can predict exactly when the car will need maienance while it’s on the road.
