Automation solutions in the automotive industry

The automation solutions in the automotive industry were used much earlier than in other sectors. Automobile manufacturers used industrial robots and sensor technology in their assembly plants to increase productivity and efficiency. In the following, we will look at the role played by automation solutions in the automotive industry now and in the future.

Main automation solutions in the automotive industry

Factory automation

Most car factories use some degree of automation in almost all phases of vehicle production. Robots, machine vision and automation are just some of the technologies that are used in the production of vehicles. automation solutions in the automotive industry used to carry out a range of tasks, from welding and assembly to inspection and testing. Discover some of the 12 Industrial robot applications and their main uses.

However, not all car manufacturers use the same level of automation. Some rely on partially manual processes that automate simple tasks but leave the final say in quality management and compliance to humans. Others use individual automated machines to perform a specific task, or combine them into an automated production line, passing the product from one machine to another.

End-to-end automated factories also exist, although they are less common nowadays. These automation solutions in the automotive industry allow factories to operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, without human supervision.

Automotive assembly robots

Assembly robots can move faster and more accurately than humans and are easier to deploy than some specialised equipment. In automotive manufacturing plants, robotic arms can perform tasks such as bolting, windshield installation and wheel assembly. They are known to increase throughput and efficiency, while reducing costs and risks for human workers.

This is the case for some types of automotive assembly robots: the first robotic technologies to define an industry.

You are at automation solutions in the automotive industry help relieve workers from the ergonomic strain of manual processing and improve production time.

Robotics for collaborative applications

You are at automation solutions in the automotive industry offer a more flexible and lighter alternative to traditional industrial robots. They take up less space on the manufacturing floor, making them easier to integrate into existing structures. In addition to optimising space, these robots can reduce the costs associated with making modifications, such as adding new contents to vehicles, in manufacturing facilities.

The automation solutions in the automotive industry are commonly used to take on less ergonomically favourable tasks, removing human employees from strenuous and health-damaging activities. They can be placed alongside human workers, helping to increase efficiency and speed in automotive production. Robots can also collaborate effectively with each other. Find out more about collaborative industrial robots: 4 main benefits.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

RPA uses software to automate repetitive, rule-based tasks, often related to business processes. The ease of implementation and rapid return on investment of RPA has positioned this technology for significant future growth.

You are at automation solutions in the automotive industry are used to carry out historically labour-intensive and time-consuming tasks such as inventory and freight management, supplier onboarding, regulatory compliance, order processing and more. RPA helps ensure accuracy while freeing up time and money normally spent on these back-office operations.

The future of RPA in automotive is set to be one of the most disruptive technologies by 2025, especially when used with other automation technologies such as AI and machine vision.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI is essential in the automation solutions in the automotive industry current. The size of the automotive AI market is expected to more than double by 2025.

AI plays a role throughout the automotive value chain, from manufacturing tasks such as design and production to service work such as predictive maintenance and insurance. However, one of the most interesting applications of AI today is in driver assistance and the development of autonomous vehicles.

Although driverless cars have not yet become the predominant vehicles on roads, autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs) are already at work in automotive manufacturing facilities. Thus, AI is driving automation throughout the automotive industry.

Artificial vision

The need for safer, more reliable and robust cars to justify prices is pushing car manufacturers to adopt mechanical inspection. There are automation solutions in the automotive industry to meet this need by providing an automated method of internal machine inspection.

The automotive industry has been an early adopter of machine vision for automated image-based inspection and analysis for automated inspection, process control and robot guidance. Also referred to as computer vision, CMV is the mother of a large number of high-end technologies, software and hardware products, embedded systems and, of course, expertise.

You are at automation solutions in the automotive industry function as the eye of the automotive production process through imaging processes including conventional imaging, hyperspectral imaging, infrared imaging, line scan imaging, 3D surface imaging and X-ray imaging.

Smart cameras or smart sensors with image capturers are used together with interfaces to record or capture images of the surface to be inspected. Several companies also use digital cameras capable of connecting directly to a computer via other interfaces.

These cameras capture images of the surface of the car component to be inspected, such as the bodywork or the fins of an engine, and are then analysed and processed by specialised analysis software, most of which uses the principle of finite element analysis in its work. The automation solutions in the automotive industry help car manufacturers save money, justify prices and emerge as strong competitors.

Cognitive computing in IoT connected cars

Cognitive computing (CC) are technology platforms based on artificial intelligence and signal processing. These platforms encompass and use machine learning, reasoning, human language, speech and object processing, human-computer interaction, dialogue and narrative generation, among others.

Whereas connected cars are vehicles that use the internet to connect and communicate with each other to build safe, easy and interference-free traffic. Some companies are combining CC and IoT to invent autonomous cars that communicate with each other while recognising and linking driving patterns with the emotional response of their human drivers during all possible scenarios such as activating the brakes a moment before a collision to avoid accidents.

If this automation solution in the automotive industry is successfully tested and replicated, it will be far more advanced than driverless cars. An example of an IoT platform could be a system where car manufacturers can develop a cloud-based service to connect to remote OBD devices and vehicles, manage vehicle diagnostic and driving behaviour data, integrate the data with enterprise systems, and develop innovative new connected vehicle applications. The automation solutions in the automotive industry that include a combination of these cross-platforms could one day eliminate accidents altogether and save lives.

Conclusions on automation solutions in the automotive industry 

The automation solutions in the automotive industry  are essential for companies in the sector to remain competitive today. It is applied throughout the manufacturing process, plays an increasingly important role in administrative maintenance and could even power the cars of the future.

In short, these main automation solutions in the automotive industry are ushering in a new renaissance with robotics and artificial intelligence at its core.