A*Star, Microsoft team up to address AI adoption challenges in Singapore manufacturing
The goal is to boost productivity and manufacturing value-add while lowering costs using the technology
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[HANNOVER] Manufacturers facing challenges in adopting artificial intelligence could soon see these barriers reduced, following a new partnership between Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) and Microsoft on Monday (Apr 20).
The memorandum of understanding (MOU), signed on the first day of the Hannover Messe industrial trade fair in Germany, “aims to reduce barriers for manufacturers to deploy advanced AI solutions developed specifically for industrial settings”, said A*Star.
Adoption hurdles include limited access to expertise in both AI and manufacturing, issues over data availability and standardisation, and concerns about deploying AI reliably in industrial environments, the agency said.
One potential outcome for manufacturers is “higher productivity, greater manufacturing value-add and lower operational costs through the adoption of manufacturing-specific AI tools”, it added.
Technology partners and system integrators could also benefit by licensing, integrating and deploying these technologies for end-user customers, as well as within their own service offerings.
While the MOU is non-binding and “intended to serve as a record of shared intent”, A*Star said, the collaboration seeks to support the Sectoral AI Centre of Excellence for Manufacturing (AIMfg) as a national platform for AI-enabled manufacturing and research translation.
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This will be done by leveraging Microsoft’s platforms, engineering capabilities and partner network, A*Star said.
AIMfg, a key initiative under Singapore’s National AI Strategy 2.0 launched in 2024, is designed to drive AI adoption in manufacturing by helping companies develop and deploy solutions on the factory floor.
Areas of collaboration
As part of the MOU, the two parties will focus on three areas.
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The first is the development of an agentic AI platform for manufacturing, by advancing AIMfg’s agentic AI platform, AIMie, so that it can be deployed across a range of use cases such as predictive maintenance and operations optimisation.
Broadly, agentic AI refers to AI systems that can carry out tasks and make decisions with limited supervision.
A*Star said that AIMfg provides expertise in manufacturing agentic intelligence, while Microsoft will offer access to its enterprise AI platform and technical expertise.
The agency added that while Microsoft’s cloud-computing platform Azure may serve as a primary environment for development and deployment, AIMie will not be tied to any single platform, allowing manufacturers to adopt it within their existing IT infrastructure.
The second area focuses on strengthening AI engineering and deployment capabilities to speed up the development and rollout of manufacturing applications.
This includes building, training and deploying AI solutions at scale across different manufacturing environments.
The final area focuses on building a network of partners to help manufacturers implement and integrate AI solutions, supporting wider adoption across the industry.
The Economic Development Board (EDB) is leading Singapore’s participation at Hannover Messe, where the Republic has a pavilion featuring EDB alongside agencies such as A*Star, Enterprise Singapore and JTC Corporation, as well as local enterprises and innovations in areas such as AI, robotics and additive manufacturing.
The trade fair, which runs until Apr 25, is “widely regarded as the world’s leading industrial trade fair, and the most important international platform for showcasing developments in industrial transformation”, A*Star said.
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