19fbtechreview.comAUGUST 2020Virtual reality will also help us to improve quality and visualize know-how. The use of "digital/virtual twins" makes it possible to simulate a plant and analyse processes in terms of efficiency, effectiveness, design and safety, but it is also a fantastic tool to go further: visualise the individual practices of workers, create a knowledge database that can be passed on to new generations.We also have the opportunity to implement intelligent sensors that will allow us to ensure more effective controls than in the past.Many of our controls are visual controls. The appearance, the shape of a product is assessed by a human eye. AI and deep learning with pattern recognition systems will be there to do this work.The AI is also present to improve existing quality control and safety techniques. Think about Near Infrared sensors. This is not a new technique. It has been used in the industry for many years. The use of AI and deep learning should make it possible to overcome the limitations of the method. In addition, the sensors are smaller, more economical and can be integrated online on production lines. Like most food industries, we use metal detectors. There are also X-rays, tera Hertz spectroscopy available in the market. Here too, AI and deep learning will make these methods more effective and expand their field of use.Smarter sensors will be more easily integrated into our "human" work environment.The food industry is an industry that has been using automation for many years and it is very common to see fully automated production sites. There is an innovation that can reconcile automation and "craftsmanship". We are referring to collaborative robots. Robots specially built to work side by side with human workers. The media have recently shown a "pizzaiolo robot" who "works" like humans; it is typically this new generation of robots that could be integrated into our manufacturing process. We do not replace the human by the machine, but we make them work together.We will not discuss the IoT as it deserves several articles considering the richness of this field. But here too, there are countless applications compatible with our philosophy.New technologies (AI, virtual reality, robotisation, etc.) will be able to improve the way we work, sometimes in less spectacular ways(new sensors, etc.), sometimes in a radically new way as with collaborative robots but always keeping a strong connection with human know-how. New technologies and craftsmanship are not antagonistic but complementary. Moreover, with a deeper integration of craftsmanship, AI and all related techniques will improve and become more and more efficient.It is our path for the future. It is clear that people with decades of experience will become mentors during the change process. They will pass on their experience, their know-how, their manual experience before leavingAtanasios Moschos
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