Mercedes-Benz is using digital twins and generative AI for a new digital production system
The Mercedes MO360 system is first implemented in Rastatt, Germany; Kecskemét, Hungary; and Beijing, China. It is a blueprint for its more than 30 factories worldwide with a digital first approach using the Omniverse software from Nvidia.
The digital twin in production helps ensure Mercedes-Benz assembly lines can be retooled, configured and optimized in physically accurate simulations first. The new assembly lines in the Kecskemét plant will enable production of vehicles based on the newly launched Mercedes Modular Architecture that are developed virtually using digital twins in Omniverse.
The MO360 production system will enable it to produce electric, hybrid and gas models on the same production lines and to scale the manufacturing of electric vehicles.
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The Kecskemét plant is the first with a full digital twin of the entire factory. This virtual area enables development at the heart of assembly, between its tech and trim lines, and there are plans for the new Kecskemét factory hall to launch into full production.
Omniverse allows Mercedes-Benz to interact directly with suppliers, reducing coordination processes by 50%. Using a digital twin in production doubles the speed for converting or constructing an assembly hall, while improving the quality of the processes.
“Using NVIDIA Omniverse and AI, Mercedes-Benz is building a connected, digital-first approach to optimize its manufacturing processes, ultimately reducing construction time and production costs,” said Rev Lebaredian, vice president of Omniverse and simulation technology at Nvidia.
The Rastatt plant is being used to pioneer digital production in the paint shop. Mercedes-Benz used AI to monitor relevant sub-processes in the pilot testing, which led to energy savings of 20%.
Next-generation Mercedes-Benz vehicles will feature the new MB.os operating system as standard across the entire vehicle portfolio. The company has worked with Nvidia to develop software-defined vehicles with the Nvidia DRIVE Orin system-on-chip and DRIVE software, with intelligent driving capabilities tested and validated in the Nvidia DRIVE Sim platform, which is also built on Omniverse.
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The implementation of MB.OS in production will allow its cars to roll off assembly lines with the latest versions of vehicle software.
“Mercedes-Benz is initiating a new era of automotive manufacturing thanks to the integration of artificial intelligence, MB.OS and the digital twin based on NVIDIA Omniverse into the MO360 ecosystem,” said Jörg Burzer, member of the board of the Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Production, Quality and Supply Chain Management. “With our new ‘Digital First’ approach, we unlock efficiency potential even before the launch of our MMA models in our global production network and can accelerate the ramp-up significantly.”
Running simulations in Omniverse enables factory planners to optimize factory floor and production line layouts for supply routes, and production lines can be validated without having to disrupt production.
This virtual approach also enables efficient design of new lines and change management for existing lines while reducing downtime and helping improve product quality. For the world’s automakers, much is at stake across the entire software development stack, from chip to cloud.
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