A pioneer in industrial code management, Copia Automation is again leading the charge in introducing an AI-powered Copilot as part of their industrial DevOps platform to assist controls engineers. Generative AI (GenAI) is adept at some routine language-based tasks that are involved in any type of code management, and OT or PLC code is no exception.
OT Engineers Get a Copilot
Copia customers tend to have their automation and PLC code in the platform. During creation of a Copia Copilot model, the model provider was responsible for sourcing data to help train it. For improving the model over time, Copia built a prompt, soliciting user feedback into the Copilot interface. Once submitted, this feedback goes to the Copia team and is used by them to update the model for improved outputs. While this is a manually intensive process, it helps Copia protect customer data and privacy.
Additionally, see more information and image of Copilot feedback prompt.
Copia Copilot is designed to support engineers with many daily tasks, including:
- Code documentation – to automatically create well-structured and effective documentation of PLC and other industrial code
- Code translation – many companies use a combination of ladder logic and structured text, so having a translation feature can support engineers working across those formats
- Code summarization – to explain what the code does; we are all getting used to these AI summaries
- Code modification – to spot quality issues with code for improving, formatting, or troubleshooting it
- Code generation – writing new code blocks for frequently used automation tasks
- File referencing: Reference PLC project files from Copia repositories for more accurate and context-aware AI outputs.
How Might it Help?
Efficiency: Some of the efficiencies available are evident. Documenting code can be time-consuming and error-prone using traditional manual means. Getting a start on modifying code could also streamline some of the coding workflows. Code generation for often-used code blocks can offload the routine and speed up the process. Our research shows that engineers spend most of their time on non-value-added tasks, so being able to reference PLC project files can streamline that, too.
Quality: Code modification will clearly help improve OT code. In addition, good documentation and summarization can help ensure code is well understood and used as intended. Eliminating some routine and repetitive tasks by generating code automatically can also improve engineers’ ability to focus on creating high-quality code.
Reduced downtime: Greater efficiency and quality of automation code will naturally help ensure uptime on production lines. As engineers leverage more of the Copilot capabilities, they can do more in less time, and OT code problems will be less likely to generate downtime.
Stay Alert
While we expect this could have significant benefits, companies must stay attentive to the code that Copilot generates and manages. The Copilot will be able to explain its reasoning, but there is no guarantee of quality or accuracy. So, as with any analytical model, review and testing will be required to achieve reliable quality assurance.
Early Release
Copilot is in the Beta release and will be expanded in functionality and scope over time. Copia hopes to transform how controls engineers write, manage, and document industrial code. Copia Copilot is a first step in driving AI into the mix. The company’s founder and CEO, Adam Gluck, says, “Our vision is clear: we want to be the leader in AI for Industrial Code.
Copia customers using it to manage code from Rockwell Automation can use this Beta version. In coming releases, the Copilot will also handle code for other automation providers’ devices.
Copia and OT DevOps
For those unfamiliar with Copia, it has introduced IT-style DevOps for OT. Automation engineers have traditionally had to figure out how to manage their PLC and automation code on their own, but a few years back, Copia introduced an Industrial DevOps Platform that started with a Git-based approach to managing automation code and expanded with automated file backups and code change detection.
Thank you, Gerry Abbey, for answering our questions about Copilot. We look forward to following Copia in the market as more AI comes into play.