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Dive Brief:
- Audi will start using a new method of IT-based factory automation this month to produce its e-tron GT quattro, RS e-tron GT and R8 models at its Böllinger Höfe plant in Heilbronn, Germany, the company said Monday.
- The automaker’s cloud-based technology, Edge Cloud 4 Production, will use three local, centralized computer servers to direct employees about which parts they should install, eliminating “the need for expensive, high-maintenance industrial PCs,” Audi said.
- The new control system will allow the company to quickly adopt new software and tools to support workers and vehicle diagnostics, predict maintenance needs and lower energy use, Sven Müller and Philip Saalmann, head and co-head of the EC4P project team, said in a statement.
Dive Insight:
The automaker expects the new system to lower production costs, especially IT-related expenses, since it’s designed to support large-scale production.
“This first application in series production is a crucial step toward IT-based production,” Gerd Walker, member of the board of management of Audi AG Production and Logistics, said in a statement.
Müller said the automaker formed a control team to monitor the EC4P system, creating new employee roles at the intersection of production and IT.
“With EC4P, we are merging the fields of automation technology and IT to advance our practical use of the Internet of Things,” Müller said.
Audi began testing the EC4P system at its Böllinger Höfe plant in July 2022.
