Honeywell and Google Cloud announced plans to introduce AI agents aimed at advancing autonomous operations within the industrial sector.
These purpose-built AI agents will integrate with Honeywell Forge’s IoT data, allowing customers to leverage Google’s Gemini platform on Vertex AI for real-time insights and automation.
Set for release in 2025 and designed to meet the needs of engineers, the AI-powered agents are designed to automate repetitive tasks and shorten project cycles.
AI agents built on Vertex AI will leverage the use of Google style search and natural language queries to modernize project engineering and deploy AI to improve value engineering operations and execution.
For example, the AI agent will review a product design or enhancement against all previous versions of the product – or products solving a similar problem – to troubleshoot any issues.
“Ultimately, this will help engineers reduce project design cycles, enabling users to focus on driving innovation and delivering exceptional customer experience,” said Suresh Venkatarayalu, CTO and president of Honeywell Connected Enterprise.
He noted Honeywell has been using GenAI for an enhanced employee and customer experience, but now it is going to help the company’s engineers create new products and revenue streams.
Venkatarayalu said integrating Google’s Vertex AI with the Honeywell’s domain expertise and data set on Honeywell Forge would help unleash user-friendly, enterprise-wide insights across a multitude of use cases.
“This will enable industrial assets to work harder, people to work smarter and processes to run more efficiently,” he said.
Honeywell plans to incorporate Google’s large language models to help technicians troubleshoot maintenance issues using natural language queries, while processing multiple data types like images and sensor readings.
For example, technicians would be able to more quickly resolve issues, submitting queries along the lines of “How did this unit perform last night?” or “How do I replace the input/output module?”.
This leads to reduced downtime and optimized equipment performance, increasing productivity and reducing maintenance costs, Venkatarayalu said.
“As Baby Boomers retire and industries are facing a severe labor shortage as a result, companies are looking to maintain the same level of expertise within the current talent and find the best tools to help them do their work,” he explained.
AI agents will augment and upskill employees in real-time by providing access to enterprise-wide knowledge and best practices, allowing less experienced workers to gain hands-on expertise more quickly, closing the skills gap and ensuring productivity even with a reduced workforce.
Google’s Mandiant, Antivirus capability and Threat Analysis Group will be combined with Honeywell’s operational technology (OT) threat intelligence capability to power an information technology (IT)/OT converged threat intelligence offering for Honeywell’s industrial customers.
Google’s Nano will enhance Honeywell edge devices as the first layer of connectivity.
“This puts information in the hands of whoever needs it whether that is an engineer, building manager, service technician or other industrial worker,” Venkatarayalu said. “Having AI at the edge will enhance device operations in remote locations, like on an oil rig.”
He noted the partnership between Honeywell and Google Cloud aligns directly with the automation megatrend, as the collaboration aims to accelerate autonomous operations through enhanced product offerings and upskilling of the industrial workforce.
“Honeywell and Google Cloud are helping equip companies with AI agents that assist industrial workers in real time – on factory floors and in the field,” Venkatarayalu said.
The aim is to ensure systems work smarter and more efficiently by AI running both in the cloud and at the edge.
“As AI becomes more reliable in industrial applications, we expect the trend toward autonomous operations to accelerate, benefiting both companies and their workforces by improving precision, reducing costs and driving innovation,” Venkatarayalu added.
