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Manufacturing and logistics AI — where software meets hardware
What makes this category different is hardware. Cancel software and it ends; equipment stays, and certification requirements attach.
SW vs HW Korean certification Real product list
The short answer
Industrial AI splits into two layers: software that reads data (predictive maintenance, process optimisation, quality inspection) and hardware that moves on the floor (robots, AGVs, sensors). The adoption process and the cost of reversing differ completely.
Software goes first. Testing prediction and inspection on your existing equipment data reveals whether hardware investment is needed at all, or whether using the data is enough.
Candidates by use
| Use | Layer | Real products |
|---|---|---|
| Predictive maintenance | Software | OnePredict GuardiOne |
| Process and robot motion optimisation | Software | MakinaRocks |
| Collaborative robots and humanoids | Hardware | Rainbow Robotics |
| Fleet and site operations | SW plus sensors | Samsara |
| Inference hardware (NPU) | Hardware | FuriosaAI · Rebellions |
| Autonomous driving and mobility platforms | SW plus HW | 42dot |
What to check
Why software goes first
Testing predictive maintenance on existing equipment data is reversible, does not stop the line, and produces a result in weeks. Once the predictions prove out, you have the basis for hardware investment.
Hardware first cannot be reversed. The equipment stays, and if it does not fit, it is sunk cost. And if the floor’s first experience is a failure, the next attempt becomes much harder.
Fix the metrics in advance too: unplanned downtime, defect rate, and prediction hit rate. Without the third you cannot demonstrate the value of predictive maintenance.
Frequently asked questions
Does this work on older equipment with no sensors?
Retrofit sensors are an option, but that is itself a hardware adoption, with certification and installation cost. First check what the data you already collect — run logs, maintenance history — can tell you.
Can it work in an air-gapped plant?
Only products supporting on-premise or edge deployment. Cloud-only products are unusable on an air-gapped network, and this condition narrows the field sharply.
Korean or foreign products?
For hardware, local certification and after-sales support weigh heavily, so Korean products often win. For software, judge on capability and data terms — but check support hours as well.
How do we measure the effect?
Unplanned downtime, maintenance cost and defect rate. For predictive maintenance, record hit rate and false alarm rate together — too many false alarms and the floor starts ignoring the alerts.
Product list
Narrow the candidates
The AI product directory lists manufacturing, logistics and AIoT hardware products.