Telefonica has announced the creation of the first artificial intelligence (AI) consortium focused on the industrial sector in Spain. The grouping, dubbed IndesIA, is led by the operator and five other major companies – Repsol, Gestamp, Navantia, Tecnicas Reunidas and Microsoft – with more than 100 small and mid-sized businesses also in the process of joining, according to the founding members.
IndesIA’s stated goal is to position Spain as a leader in data and artificial intelligence applications for industry, while also stimulating a new economy to spark growth at the national level. The new consortium, which draws on the support and experience of leading bodies in the field such as the Basque Artificial Intelligence Centre (BAIC), is also focused on boosting employment and bridging the training gap in STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) to create new high-skilled jobs, while attracting and retaining tech talent in Spain.
Telefonica said over 60 use cases based on artificial intelligence and data analytics have been identified across five major industrial areas, namely energy, automotive, naval, telecommunications and engineering. AI technologies will be used to improve processes shared by these industries, including predictive maintenance of equipment, optimisation of production planning, smart logistics, the development of autonomous production plants, optimisation of energy consumption in production, development of digital twins, automation of industrial processes, quality optimisation and development of advanced materials.
IndesIA intends to create a library of industrial cases and become a source of reference material with a view to stimulating and facilitating the adoption of artificial intelligence technology for companies, including the more than 100 SMEs that have already signed up to join the consortium.
