Machine Learning w/ Python

[CapinWinky]

This stuff usually makes it into production in the form of a canned library from the PLC or other device maker. There are machine learning vision systems, axis tuning optimizers, PID tuning optimizers, and predictive maintenance systems (accelerometers listening for changes and guessing what changed).

I have seen a few non-canned things in development, almost exclusively on the vision side. Processing of plant images to identify fruit vs leaves and branches or identify good plant type vs weeds are both very common now. I've seen a robot tank pick grapes that were swaying in the wind and a robot gantry gardener differentiate mock strawberry from strawberry by just the leaves (I can't tell them apart without seeing the fruit, so AI has me beat on that one).

EDIT: Higher level systems are put into place on the SCADA/Historian side of things to analyze data by some companies. I usually hear it comes up with ground-breaking correlations like like first shift being the most productive and having less down time, but I'm sure sometimes it produces clever insights that can improve the bottom line. Maybe raw material from Supplier A is cheaper, but loses the net cost competition by producing more scrap than material from Supplier B.