The factory of the future will be driven by cloud computing

At Hannover Messe from 1 to 5 April 2019, ZEISS will present an integrated solution at the Microsoft booth that evaluates spectroscopic measurement values directly from the production line and makes them available using the Microsoft Azure cloud computing platform. Thanks to this solution, customers can access data and insights at any time to achieve the desired product quality even more efficiently.

ZEISS has teamed up with Microsoft to develop a unique spectroscopy solution that gives customers invaluable insights and information about food quality parameters such as fat, moisture and salt content in their production. This is achieved by mounting a ZEISS Corona process spectrometer directly on the production line, providing constant and accurate measurements, and uploads them to the Microsoft's cloud platform Azure. This information is available to all the individuals responsible for monitoring and optimizing production. This enables them to speed up decisions and make the individual processes as efficient and effective as possible.

ZEISS is the first company to offer a spectrometer like the ZEISS Corona process that is integrated to Microsoft Azure. This cloud-based solution makes it easy and convenient for customers to monitor their processes, including in food production. They can access the data anywhere and modify production in real time.

Receiving spectroscopically determined data in real time via a cloud is part of the shift towards the "connected factory". With its measurement solutions, ZEISS is one of the pioneers in networked production and thus offers its customers significant competitive advantages. Real-time, in-line analysis enables proactive process optimization so that consistent quality and productivity are achieved.

Thanks to the intelligent and networked spectrometer from ZEISS, a snack manufacturer in Australia can now determine the salt and moisture content of its products in seconds. This way, relevant quality factors in the production process can be adjusted immediately. In the past, however, the corresponding adjustments took several minutes or even hours.

"By integrating a networked spectrometer directly on the production line, customers check ingredients such as fat content, moisture or salt content in just a few seconds. This information then goes to the cloud and the client can react quickly to process variations, increasing quality and productivity, while using raw materials and energy in a more efficient way at the same time. In short: they gain an advantage by consistently delivering quality like never before,” says Dr. Christian Korth, Managing Director of Carl Zeiss Spectroscopy GmbH.

"Every company today is also evolving into a digital solutions provider. Industrial companies need to be able to deploy technologies such as cloud and edge computing, artificial intelligence and IoT quickly and effectively, while at the same time building up their own digital competencies in order to offer their customers new added value with digital business models. ZEISS shows how increasing food quality and optimizing processes go hand in hand thanks to digital technologies," declares Thorsten Herrmann, Managing Director of Microsoft Germany.