Rockwell Automation Advances Industrial Intelligence with Edge-based GenAI

Rockwell Automation introduces a major upgrade to industrial intelligence with new edge-based GenAI tools. The company integrates NVIDIA’s Nemotron Nano small language model directly into FactoryTalk Design Studio and its broader ecosystem. The move brings fast, secure, and local AI capabilities to modern manufacturing environments.

Strong Collaboration with NVIDIA

Rockwell works closely with NVIDIA to build this new solution. The system uses the open-source Nemotron-Nano-9B-v2 model and the NVIDIA NeMo framework. The model runs efficiently on HMIs, appliances, desktop IDEs, and private clouds. It even operates in fully air-gapped environments. Thus, manufacturers gain powerful intelligence without risking security.

AI Tuned for Real Engineering Workflows

Rockwell fine-tunes the model with data from FactoryTalk Design Studio Copilot. This tuning creates an AI engine built for design, development, and production tasks. Early testing shows faster reasoning and quicker responses. Therefore, engineers now complete workflows with greater accuracy and speed.

Leaders Highlight Real-World Benefits

Tony Carrara from Rockwell emphasizes the edge advantage. He states that industrial teams need reliable AI at the point of action. He explains that this new model accelerates work while keeping control clear and predictable.
Meanwhile, NVIDIA’s Joey Conway notes that small language models deliver real-time intelligence to factory floors, grids, and other critical systems.

Launch at Automation Fair 2025

Rockwell will showcase the new edge-based GenAI platform at Automation Fair 2025 in Chicago from November 17 to 20. The company will demonstrate how real-time GenAI reshapes automation design, operations, and decision-making.