Comau to demonstrate innovations alongside Microsoft at Hanover Messe

Leveraging real-time data and operational insights gathered from equipment, products, people, and the factory environment, Comau allows manufacturing companies not only to increase machine efficiency and to reduce maintenance operations, but also to improve the operator’s performances and ability to shape the potential of new digital technologies to meet the objectives of increasing the production efficiency. Within what represents and international showcase of excellence, the Italian proposition of Comau stands out: with its over 40 years of factory-proven experience and an international network of 34 locations, 15 manufacturing plants and 5 innovation centers that span 17 countries, it teams up with Microsoft and ICONICS to enrich its Digital Solutions Portfolio to benefit companies all over the world.

The project  Comau DiWo (Digital Workplace) is supported by the cloud platform Microsoft Azure and by the solution for the Internet of Things Azure IoT Suite, as well as by the operating system Windows 10, which allow to leverage safely data generated from the plant. When paired with Windows 10 universal apps and Mixed Reality solutions, it can minimize operational downtime, increase operational efficiencies, and more quickly pinpoint the location of faults in equipment, which improves team collaboration and cooperation. With Microsoft HoloLens, Comau is for instance able to control Comau Racer 3 robot that handles components of different nature in the several manufacturing environments and it can already remotely monitor factory machines, giving manufacturers a new way to interact with data via natural gestures and hands-free operation.The Machine Learning features and Openness – guaranteed first of all by the support of the machine-to-machine communication standard OPC-UA - allow to integrate production- related data with other internal/external data sources to gain business insights and getting more value along all the extended supply chain. Moreover users can access the Comau DiWo solution towards any device, machine, sensor, robot and any other kind of appliance/tool used in the factory.

“Our strategy, aiming at making industrial automation more and more open and easy-to-use, is based on innovative solutions such as DiWo, Comau’s R&D program focused on Industrial IoT. In this area, the collaboration and above all the synergy deriving from the common know-how of three leading companies, highlighted in the well-known Hannover Messe showcase through a jointly developed application, help us in the development path of software infrastructures for the Factory 4.0, by allowing to leverage them straight in the industrial plants, while totally respecting key criteria such as security, speed and user-friendliness”, Massimo Ippolito, Innovation Manager at Comau, claims.

“Mixed Reality, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence are redefining the industrial world and Microsoft means to be the enabler of the success of companies willing to reimagine their business in a more efficient, sustainable and safe way, thanks to new technologies. IDC estimates that the intelligent factory is already a reality and 40% of operational processes will be self-healing and self-learning by 2022: through Microsoft technology, we are helping Italian companies to seize the huge opportunities deriving from this revolution”, Tiziana Olivieri, Enterprise & Partners Lead at Microsoft Italy, comments.

“We are enthusiastic about collaborating with a leader such as Comau to offer intelligent solutions able to lead the digital transformation path of Italian industrial realities: thanks to the project with Comau, we are sure we can empower more and more companies to leverage useful insights from inside and outside the plant, by guaranteeing security, flexibility and openness in the meanwhile”, Fabio Moioli, Enterprise Services Lead at Microsoft Italy, adds.

“ICONICS is proud to partner with Comau and Microsoft on this exciting use case for connected operations using Microsoft HoloLens and Azure IoT technology,” says Russ Agrusa, President and CEO of ICONICS. “With ICONICS’ Holographic Machine Interface, users can now quickly view needed real-time and predictive maintenance information through intuitive, hands-free operation and natural gestures. These mixed reality abilities expand our solutions, enabling ICONICS to make the invisible visible for customers and partners worldwide.”

Exhibition Demos

• At Hannover Messe, Comau demoes a solution focused on business intelligence, remote controlling and operation monitoring, as well as on customer services integration. Leveraging different scenarios where a robot will have anomalies, the demo shows how, thanks to Microsoft platforms Azure IoT Suite and Dynamics 365, the solution is able to elaborate data, create an immediate alert and identify the corrective actions needed as well as competences required to fix it, closing the flow by scheduling a call to the right resource. This flow simplifies anomalies detection and increases on site repair effectiveness. In addition to that, leveraging Microsoft Power BI analysis capabilities you can get any insight you need from the different kind of real time dashboarding for different roles, with the details and on the device you prefer.
• At the trade show – within Microsoft exhibition area - Comau also shows how every customer can get, through the portal, a Knowledge Base Diagnosis, and open a chat with a back office agent who will remote control the machine to fix anomaly.
• At the booth, Comau demonstrates in the end the ability to control a Comau Racer 3 robot using ICONICS Holographic Machine Interface technology to make the invisible visible: Comau’s technicians are also using the mixed reality of Microsoft HoloLens to remotely monitor factory machines, giving manufacturers a new way to interact with data on the factory floor via natural gestures and hands-free operation. Workers will now be able to interact with 2D and 3D holograms superimposed over their real-world production environment for enhanced insight into their operations. This enables use cases around remote monitoring, asset management and predictive maintenance.