AI and digital transformation in manufacturing

Developments in manufacturing technology are increasingly focusing on AI-driven assistance and digital transformation (DX) to address labor shortages and production complexity.

In Europe, the EU-funded ‘Manufactor’ project is utilizing a 6 million euro budget to develop an intelligent assistance system. This system integrates wearable sensors, XR glasses, and AI agents to provide real-time support to workers, aiming to reduce training times and manufacturing errors.

Concurrently, discussions in Japan highlight a shift toward integrated engineering and advanced wearables. At the Nepcon Japan Autumn exhibition, the ‘HintBot’ platform demonstrated the use of smart glasses for visual field instruction. Furthermore, experts suggest that true digital transformation requires moving beyond simple automation toward ‘overall optimization.’ This involves connecting product design, production systems, and operations through an ‘autonomous decentralized integrated type’ system, where individual modules operate autonomously under an integrated control base.