Machine learning (ML) is everywhere. Startups, OEMs, and industrial suppliers are investing heavily in developing technology to collect and analyze manufacturing data. Much has been written about ML in manufacturing, but it can still be difficult to understand the different approaches. In manufacturing, the application of wireless sensors and ML offers potential to reduce costs and improve efficiency across the entire organization. Predictive maintenance (PdM) has widely been seen as one of the most promising applications for ML because it gives reliability teams real-time insight into the condition of physical equipment.

On the morning of September 1, just before a routine pre-flight ignition test, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded. In an instant, the 277 foot-tall space vehicle and its 200 million satellite cargo disappeared into a ball of flames. SpaceX has been fairly mum with details on what went wrong last month on Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral. But, considering it is SpaceX's second launch failure in 15 months, the explosion is a more tangible measure of the company's future than its highly-publicized (and hypothetical) plan to settle Mars. On Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the problem may have been operational--rather than a manufacturing or design flaw of the rocket itself.

Editorial

Editorials marking the first time AI Magazine has been devoted to a single theme (the application of AI to manufacturing problems). Editorials marking the first time AI Magazine has been devoted to a single theme (the application of AI to manufacturing problems).