Apple pilots station monitoring with Video ML for smart manufacturing

Apple has piloted a station monitoring with Video ML in India. While speaking at the Bengaluru Tech Summit, Priya Balasubramaniam - Vice President Operations - Apple said the project will allow remote monitoring and control of production and increase productivity.

"This and other projects will also usher in a new era of improved quality, real-time quality control, faster resolution of technical issues, digital process checks… in other words, smart quality. But for companies and countries to fully realise these benefits, they must ensure that a large part of the workforce can take part in this transformation. They need people with the skills for tomorrow, including AI/ML, 3-D printing and robotics."

To leverage such technologies, companies need to have a highly-skilled workforce and a commitment to lifelong learning. Praising the higher education system in India, Balasubramaniam added state-level policies and the government of India's policies to promote manufacturing, coupled with efforts to support the ecosystem of startups, like NASCOMM's 10,000 startups initiative, are already advancing us along the path to more opportunities, and more investment.

Apple sees an exciting opportunity for India to go further and train its emerging workforce in the foundations of smart manufacturing: intelligent design; connected and optimised systems that are agile, proactive, and sustainable. And claims Apple's accelerator connects some of the brightest minds in engineering and technology with the resources that can elevate their designs.

For instance, Numerics is an iOS app from a local developer in India that allows users to create custom dashboards, with a visual MIS front end. Many companies are already using this to monitor key metrics like sales numbers or page views across their products. Maruti service stations across India allow their customers to use the Scan & Assure app to verify the authenticity of the parts used in car repairs.

Apple has been operating in India for more than two decades and in 2017, the company began manufacturing iPhones at a facility in Bengaluru. Since then, Apple has expanded with facilities and is manufacturing several iPhone models for the domestic market and export. Along with its supply chain, Balasubramaniam says Apple is investing significantly in India to develop its operations, expand reach, and engage with more local suppliers.

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