According to Fischereder, the module is an addition to KEBA's existing control system. It extends an industrial control system with the ability to execute AI models directly on site in real time. You can think of the module as accelerator hardware in a consumer computer. It is reduced to the essential performance required to calculate neural networks. Without the graphics card part, which is primarily designed for games, but with a special architecture designed for calculating neural networks. The module is based on Linux, has a Hailo chip from Israel and comes with a Docker architecture.

"In addition, we are currently starting to build a software stack that will enable customers to access these capabilities from the PLC programming languages, for example. This will be particularly interesting if there are no AI experts available to programme these capabilities. After all, expertise in automation does not automatically mean expertise in artificial intelligence," explains Fischereder in the Industrial AI Podcast.

At the same time, the Linz-based company is setting up an AI group to support customers with their first AI projects. The developers are focussing on computer vision applications in particular. In the podcast interview, he explains what an MLOps strategy looks like, why he wants to launch another new grey box on the market and what an AI software product from KEBA could look like.