Honeywell and Google Cloud have announced a collaboration to jointly develop artificial intelligence (AI)-based solutions. The goal is to effectively address workforce and skill shortages in the industrial sector by connecting AI agents with assets, personnel, and processes.
This partnership will deeply integrate Google Cloud's Gemini AI technology, utilized in its Vertex AI platform, with Honeywell's Internet of Things (IoT) platform, Honeywell Forge. This integration is expected to deliver enterprise-level insights across various industrial applications, providing unprecedented value to businesses.
To enhance the industrial workforce, Honeywell and Google Cloud plan to utilize Google Cloud's Vertex AI Search technology to develop industrial AI agents tailored to engineers' specific needs. These AI agents will automate tasks, significantly reducing project design cycles. Additionally, leveraging Google's large language models (LLMs), they will assist technicians in swiftly resolving maintenance issues. With Gemini's multimodal capabilities, these agents will process various data types, including images, videos, text, and sensor readings, further boosting operational efficiency.
Honeywell Chairman and CEO Vimal Kapur stated, "Achieving autonomy requires assets to operate more efficiently, personnel to work smarter, and processes to run more smoothly. By combining Google Cloud's AI technology with our extensive domain expertise on the Honeywell Forge platform, our customers will gain unparalleled operational insights. This will bridge the physical and digital worlds, accelerate autonomous operations, and become a key driver of Honeywell's growth."
Currently, the industrial sector is grappling with severe workforce and skill shortages due to a large wave of retirements stemming from a peak in birth rates. Honeywell's "2024 Industrial AI Insights Report" reveals that although 82% of industrial AI leaders consider their companies early adopters of AI, only 17% have fully implemented their initial AI initiatives.
Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, stated, "Our collaboration with Honeywell marks a significant step in bringing the transformative power of AI to industrial operations. By integrating Gemini and Vertex AI, along with Honeywell's industrial data and expertise, we are creating new opportunities for industrial organizations worldwide to optimize processes, enhance workforce capabilities, and achieve meaningful business outcomes."
Additionally, the collaboration includes integrating Google's threat intelligence into Honeywell's cybersecurity products, such as the Global Analytics, Research, and Defense (GARD) threat intelligence and Security Media Exchange (SMX), aiming to enhance threat detection capabilities and protect the global infrastructure of industrial customers.
Honeywell is also exploring the use of Google's Gemini Nano model to enhance the intelligence of its edge AI devices across various applications. This development could enable devices to operate without internet connectivity, potentially leading to a new wave of smarter and more efficient devices and solutions.
The strategic alliance between Honeywell and Google Cloud closely integrates industrial technology with artificial intelligence, driving innovation and enhancing efficiency in the industrial sector. The first batch of solutions built on Google Cloud AI technology is expected to be available to Honeywell's customers by 2025, delivering more intelligent and efficient industrial solutions to enterprises.
