AVEVA adds AI assistants to boost industrial engineering
AVEVA has launched a new suite of artificial intelligence tools for its Unified Engineering product, introducing assistants for industrial queries, generative design and predictive design, alongside an intelligent point cloud framework.
The tools are embedded within AVEVA's engineering and design environment and are aimed at engineering, procurement and construction firms, as well as asset owners delivering industrial projects.
The industrial AI assistant enables users to interrogate project information and support engineering tasks, while capturing and propagating product usage knowledge. Built directly into AVEVA's engineering and design tools, it is intended to support both experienced project teams and new staff.
AVEVA has also released a generative design AI assistant that applies design requirements and user directives to analyse constraints and generate layout options, including pipe routing during Pre-FEED and FEED stages.
A third addition, the predictive design AI assistant, allows customers to create their own machine learning models. The tool is designed to help users address bespoke design challenges without the need to write code.
The final component is an intelligent point cloud framework that reads, imports and displays point cloud data, augmenting it with AI-based classification through AVEVA Point Cloud Manager.
AVEVA positioned the release as an initial set of tools that customers can deploy immediately. The launch aligns with the company's broader data-centric engineering strategy, spanning 1D, 2D and 3D design across multiple disciplines.
The tools operate alongside AVEVA's multi-discipline engineering and design environment, which is designed to support shared, data-centric workflows across project teams.
Industrial capital projects often rely on multiple software tools across disciplines and phases, creating handover challenges - particularly when reconciling design intent with as-built conditions and operational data.
"Our new AI tools are assisting with the creation of digital twins, empowering project teams to collaborate on the same data in real time, launch quickly with minimal overhead, and drive global, data-centric engineering", said Rob McGreevy, Chief Product Officer, AVEVA.
"By reducing IT demands, increasing transparency, and speeding up handovers, AVEVA Unified Engineering with these new AI tools, not only accelerates projects, but also saves time and money. These tools will offer the ability to capture institutional knowledge and build bespoke AI/ML modules through no-code tools, meaning organisations can future-proof their projects while working smarter, faster, and more accurately," McGreevy said.
AVEVA also highlighted the role of point cloud data in engineering projects, particularly for brownfield modifications and site validation. Laser scans and related point clouds are commonly used to confirm existing conditions, with the new framework connecting to AVEVA's point cloud manager and applying AI-driven classification.
ARC Advisory Group said AI tools are becoming increasingly common across engineering and design disciplines, including mechanical, civil, electrical and process engineering.
"AVEVA's launch of AI tools for engineering and design marks a significant step in re-shaping design engineering for process manufacturers. AI is becoming a powerful tool to enhances efficiency, accuracy, and innovation across nearly every discipline, from mechanical and civil to electrical and process engineering," said Peter Reynolds, Industry Advisor, ARC Advisory Group.
AVEVA said it plans further development of the tools, building on its domain expertise and data-centric engineering workflows.