NTT DATA, one of the world’s leading providers of artificial intelligence solutions, digital business infrastructure, and technology services, has entered into a collaboration with Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc. (HYMH), which is the leading manufacturer of Hyster® and Yale® lift trucks, to create an innovative solution that utilizes AI in the physical environment. The new solution helps to enable machines and facility systems to perceive, analyze, and react to operational realities instantly through sensor data.
Through this innovation, HYMH brings the capability of AI-enabled quality assurance right into its manufacturing floor operations. This innovative collaboration stands out as a big leap in the field of industrial automation. This solution utilizes physical AI and demonstrates the success of physical AI in the complex assembly line environments. The solution offers an automated means for maintaining strict quality standards in the manufacturing process.
Streamlining the Assembly Line with Edge-Based Physical AI
Developed and deployed by NTT DATA at HYMH’s primary manufacturing site in Berea, Kentucky, the cutting-edge framework seamlessly merges high-resolution vision sensors, localized edge AI processing, and sophisticated analytics into a vital assembly line workflow.
In collaboration with its partner, Archetype AI, NTT DATA and HYMH developed a specialized physical AI model, which is able to keep track of real-time assembly operations with respect to production standards. Each operation is then checked for confirmation whether the required parts have been perfectly fitted and whether all stages of assembly have been completed. Any deviation that occurs during the process is detected by the AI before the item can be moved to the next production phase. In this way, any problems are detected at the production level itself.
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This deployment signals a massive shift in how heavy manufacturing approaches AI integration. Powered by localized edge computing, the infrastructure processes all data on-site. This eliminates latency, enhances data security, and accelerates deployment times. Initial outcomes indicate that this physical AI framework reduces typical deployment timelines from months to mere weeks when compared to traditional legacy methods, significantly lowering time-to-value and speeding up operational adaptation.
“Our confidence in physical AI continues to grow, and we’re starting to see the countless benefits that AI can bring to our global manufacturing operations,” said Barbara Binda, Director of Global Manufacturing Innovation, Hyster-Yale Materials Handling. “Working with NTT DATA allows us to leverage how physical AI can help our production teams maintain high-quality standards and deliver the most reliable products to our clients.”
“This deployment shows what physical AI looks like in real production environments, not as a concept, but with tangible impact on the factory floor,” said Shahid Ahmed, Global Head of Edge Services, NTT DATA, Inc. “By combining real production data with physical AI models at the edge, we’re helping leading manufacturers like HYMH deliver high-quality products, support frontline workers and apply AI in ways that deliver real-world outcomes.”
Driving Industrial Resilience and Scalable Automation
As global industrial sectors accelerate their automation strategies, there is an escalating market demand for physical AI systems capable of executing tasks safely within highly intricate environments to bolster resilience, efficiency, and quality control. NTT DATA remains uniquely positioned to deploy these complex solutions globally, bridging deep operational expertise with end-to-end technology services to fuse AI smoothly across both information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) landscapes.
The breakthrough builds upon a long-standing strategic relationship between NTT DATA and HYMH. Moving forward, both enterprises plan to co-innovate increasingly adaptive and intelligent manufacturing workflows while actively exploring avenues to scale physical AI for highly repeatable, premium-quality production standards across the industry.
