Audi has partnered with Broadcom to launch its first virtual factory controller at its Böllinger Höfe factory in Germany.
Virtual programmable logic controllers (VPLC) are industrial computers used to control manufacturing processes, such as production lines or robots.
The German carmaker said it is now using Broadcom’s VMware Cloud Foundation private cloud platform to centralise the management and maintenance of industrial PC devices locate on the factory floor at Böllinger Höfe, where it manufactures the electric Audi e-tron GT car.
The VPLC is part of Audi’s Edge Cloud 4 Production initiative, in which the company is delivering smart manufacturing using software-defined factor automation, with partners including Broadcom, Cisco and Siemens.
“The use of virtual programmable logic controllers in the body shop is an important productivity leap in our 360factory strategy for efficient and data-driven manufacturing,” said Audi board member for production Gerd Walker.
“We want to bring the local cloud for production to all plants and leverage advances in digital control systems in the process.”
Audi’s Böllinger Höfe factory
Audi deployed VCF to create a private cloud environment outside of Böllinger Höfe located on the Audi campus in Neckarsulm, Germany, to support virtual desktop stations and logic controllers.
Future use cases could include AI-driven production, data analytics, and computer vision applications.
“As Audi seeks to take factory automation to the next level and benefit from a scalable infrastructure at its factories worldwide, VMware Cloud Foundation will enable the replacement of industrial PCs and specialty hardware on the shop floor with general purpose servers running consistent VMware cloud infrastructure software,” said Paul Turner, vice president of products, VMware Cloud Foundation Division at Broadcom.
“VCF provides a consistent and scalable way for Audi to operate a distributed edge infrastructure, manage resources more efficiently, and lower operations costs. Ultimately, VCF will help Audi increase factory uptime, agility, and the speed of rolling out new applications and tools across the production line.”
VMware, which was bought by Broadcom, has made pushing VCF its main focus, with over 70% of the core capacity that VMware has sold last year based on the firm’s private cloud solution.
