In order to speed up safer, autonomous operations for the industrial sector, Honeywell and Google Cloud unveiled a novel partnership that connects artificial intelligence (AI) agents with resources, personnel, and procedures.
This collaboration will combine the vast data set on Honeywell Forge, a top Internet of Things (IoT) platform for industrials, with the multimodality and natural language capabilities of Gemini on Vertex AI, Google Cloud’s AI platform.
This will release enterprise-wide, easily comprehensible insights for a wide range of application cases. Opportunities to save maintenance costs, boost operational productivity, and upskill staff will be advantageous to Honeywell’s clients in the industrial sector. In 2025, Honeywell’s clients will be able to access the first solutions developed using Google Cloud AI.
Industrial AI Insights Report
The industrial sector is experiencing a labor and skills shortages as a result of the mass retirement of baby boomer workforce. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to help, but only as a source of income rather than a means of eliminating jobs.
According to Honeywell’s 2024 Industrial AI Insights report, 82% of industrial AI leaders think their organizations are early adopters of AI, yet only 17% have fully implemented their initial AI goals.
In order to promote AI adoption and allow businesses throughout the industry to profit from growing automation, this collaboration will supply AI agents that complement the current workforce and operations.
Honeywell and Google Cloud will co-innovate solutions around:
Purpose-Built, Industrial AI Agents
A new AI-powered agent that is customized to engineers’ needs and built on top of Google Cloud’s Vertex AI Search will assist automate chores and shorten project design cycles, freeing up users to concentrate on fostering innovation and providing outstanding customer experiences.
Google’s large language models (LLMs) will be used by more agents to assist technicians in resolving maintenance issues more rapidly (e.g., “How did a unit perform last night?”). “Why is this sound coming from my system?” or “How can I swap out the input/output module?” Users will be able to handle several kinds of input, including text, photos, videos, and sensor readings, by utilizing Gemini’s multimodality capabilities. This will let its engineers to acquire the answers they require more rapidly than just chat and forecasts.
Enhanced Cybersecurity
Current Honeywell cybersecurity products, such as Global Analysis, Research and Defense (GARD) Threat Intelligence and Secure Media Exchange (SMX), will incorporate Google Threat Intelligence, which includes frontline insight from Mandiant, to improve threat detection and safeguard industrial clients’ global infrastructure.
On-the-Edge Device Advances
In the future, Honeywell plans to investigate leveraging Google’s Gemini Nano model to improve the intelligence of Honeywell edge AI devices in a variety of vertical use cases, from scanning performance to voice-based guided workflow, maintenance, operational, and alarm assistance without requiring an internet or cloud connection.
Future announcements from Honeywell will focus on this first step toward a new generation of smarter gadgets and solutions.
By leveraging AI to enable growth and productivity, the integration of Google Cloud technology also further supports Honeywell’s alignment of its portfolio to three compelling megatrends, including automation.
Key Comments
“The path to autonomy requires assets working harder, people working smarter and processes working more efficiently,” said Vimal Kapur, Chairman and CEO of Honeywell. “By combining Google Cloud’s AI technology with our deep domain expertise–including valuable data on our Honeywell Forge platform–customers will receive unparalleled, actionable insights bridging the physical and digital worlds to accelerate autonomous operations, a key driver of Honeywell’s growth.”
“Our partnership with Honeywell represents a significant step forward in bringing the transformative power of AI to industrial operations,” said Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud. “With Gemini on Vertex AI, combined with Honeywell’s industrial data and expertise, we’re creating new opportunities to optimize processes, empower workforces and drive meaningful business outcomes for industrial organizations worldwide.”
