Pump manufacturer Ebara to pursue artificial intelligence technologies with Ridge-i

Japanese pump manufacturer Ebara has invested 100 million yen (€789,676) in Ridge-i and will form an alliance to plan, research and develop technologies related to artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Under the terms of the agreement, Ebara will work across three main areas to leverage Ridge-i’s capabilities and improve production processes, as well as enhance the value of Ebara’s products and services.

The alliance will focus on: replacing human visual inspection of product appearance; optimising processes and realising safe operation by tracking motions of people and objects during production; and optimising the operating schedule of machines based on an analysis of environmental data.

Using image analysis technology, jointly developed with Ridge-i, Ebara subsidiary Ebara Environmental Plant has successfully carried out a demonstration and commenced operation of an automatic crane systems with waste identification AI.