Manufacturing automation is at an inflection point. AI is rapidly moving from experimentation to expectation, yet many factories still operate on hardware centric architectures designed for a different era. The result is a growing mismatch: AI ambitions are advancing faster than production infrastructure can support, creating new operational and competitive challenges.
As AI use cases move closer to production workloads, this gap is becoming harder for manufacturing leaders to ignore. At the same time, manufacturing environments must continue to meet uncompromising requirements for reliability, safety, and performance. Downtime is not an option. Determinism still matters. And operational complexity continues to increase.
To address these challenges, Audi, a German automotive manufacturer and wholly owned subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, has rethought the foundation of production IT (Information Technology) and OT (Operational Technology) at scale across its production environments. Rather than relying on thousands of distributed devices and fixed function systems, Audi has adopted a software first approach to industrial automation, bringing the speed, flexibility, and operating model of IT into production environments without requiring disruptive, line by line rebuilds for every new capability.
Edge Cloud for Production in Large Scale Manufacturing
The result is Edge Cloud for Production (EC4P), which Audi is operating at scale across its production environments. EC4P combines established automation technology with the flexibility and computing model of an on premises edge cloud. This approach simplifies processes, reduces on site hardware requirements, and enables new functions to be introduced more quickly while maintaining the reliability and determinism required for industrial operations.
What Audi reports about EC4P:
- EC4P is being introduced into large scale production environments
- Centralized worker guidance has reduced the need for more than thousands of industrial PCs
- Virtual programmable logic controllers (vPLCs) are replacing local hardware controls
- Industrial devices, including around 100 robots, are coordinated with millisecond level precision
- EC4P enables seamless, high volume manufacturing, allowing Audi to produce several hundred vehicle bodies per day across three shifts, an industry benchmark that remains unmatched
A new ARC Advisory Group white paper “Building Audi’s EC4P Platform for Shop Floor Virtualization” examines how EC4P was designed, implemented, and scaled at Audi’s manufacturing environments, with independent analysis of how software defined approaches can be applied to factory infrastructure.
Figure 1: ARC Advisory Group whitepaper
From Hardware Centric to Software Defined Production
Traditional factory automation architectures are tightly bound to localized hardware industrial PCs, dedicated controllers, and systems coupled directly to individual machines. While effective for decades, this model has become increasingly difficult to evolve. Software innovation now moves faster than hardware refresh cycles, security practices vary across environments, and scaling new capabilities particularly AI driven use cases often requires significant rework.
EC4P reflects a different approach. It replaces hardware bound automation with a centralized, virtualized edge cloud model, where production workloads are delivered as software services rather than tied to physical devices. Workloads such as worker guidance systems, engineering environments, and control functions can be operated centrally, simplifying operations and enabling more consistent lifecycle management without compromising OT requirements.
Operating in Highly Automated Production Environments
ARC Advisory Group documents EC4P operating in highly automated body shop and assembly environments, including deployments where virtualized control systems support coordinated industrial operations. These environments demonstrate how virtualized, edge cloud based production architectures can operate beyond pilot projects and into real manufacturing settings.
Why Infrastructure Matters for AI in Manufacturing
AI holds significant promise in manufacturing from predictive maintenance and anomaly detection to computer vision based quality inspection. However, many initiatives stall due to infrastructure constraints. AI in manufacturing often fails not because of models, but because infrastructure limits deployment, operations, and lifecycle management.
Scaling AI requires standardized execution environments, centralized operations, secure access to production data, and the ability to deploy and update workloads consistently across sites. EC4P was built with these requirements in mind, creating a foundation that supports data driven and AI enabled use cases alongside core production workloads.
Enabling IT/OT Convergence with an Edge Cloud Foundation
A key insight from ARC Advisory Group’s research is that modernization is not achieved by technology alone. EC4P supports closer collaboration between IT and OT teams by providing a shared infrastructure model while preserving determinism, availability, and functional safety.
As part of EC4P, Audi works with leading industry partners to integrate virtualization platforms, networking, and automation technologies. Within this environment, VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) is used to operate virtualized production workloads as an on premises edge cloud, providing centralized lifecycle management, security, and operational consistency.
What You’ll Learn in the ARC White Paper
The ARC Advisory Group white paper provides a deeper, independent look at:
- The architecture behind Audi’s EC4P implementation
- How virtualization and edge cloud principles are applied in OT environments
- Practical considerations for scaling AI and modernizing production infrastructure
- Bring together best in breed technology from Broadcom, Cisco and Siemens
Read the ARC Advisory Group White Paper: Building Audi’s EC4P Platform for Shop Floor Virtualization
Learn More:
Audi Press Release: Audi Scales up Deployment of Artificial Intelligence in Production
Broadcom News: Audi: Driving New Levels of Manufacturing Efficiency with VMware Cloud Foundation
Case Study: Audi Smart Factories – Accelerate the Transformation of the Global Automotive Industry
Video: Audi Smart Manufacturing with VMware Cloud Foundation Edge
Blog: Audi and VCF Professional Services Collaborate to Pioneer Smart Manufacturing
Blog: Audi Introduces Smart Manufacturing with VMware Cloud Foundation Edge
Webpage: VMware Cloud Foundation
Webpage: VMware Cloud Foundation Edge
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