Last year, we released Jumpstart Agora, a new industry-led marketplace for Jumpstart automation, where we shared the story of Contoso Supermarket and illustrated how retailers can explore the art of the possible with Azure. Today, we are thrilled to announce our new Jumpstart Agora scenario, Contoso Motors, an AI-enhanced cloud-to-edge accelerator for manufacturers.
Like with any Jumpstart release, you can expect an easy automated deployment, comprehensive documentation, and architecture diagrams across the scenario.
Meet Contoso Motors
The Contoso Motors scenario showcases how manufacturers can harness the power of Azure and Microsoft AI to streamline operations, improve process efficiency, and support safe work environments. This new scenario provides an end-to-end example of how Azure Arc, Azure IoT Operations, data solutions, and advanced analytics can transform manufacturing processes to create factories of the future/smarter physical operations.
In this scenario, Contoso Motors leverages Azure Arc to seamlessly manage and deploy applications across its hybrid environment, ensuring consistency and reliability from the cloud to the factory floor. By integrating Azure IoT Operations, the scenario demonstrates real-time monitoring and management of manufacturing equipment, optimizing performance and minimizing downtime.
Advanced data solutions and analytics play a crucial role, enabling Contoso Motors to gain deep insights into their operations. Predictive maintenance, quality control, and supply chain optimization are just a few examples of the capabilities unlocked through these technologies.
Looking ahead, Contoso Motors embraces Microsoft's Adaptive cloud approach, with Azure Arc serving as the foundation. This strategic move unifies teams, sites, and systems into a cohesive operational framework, enabling the harnessing of cloud-native and AI technologies across hybrid, multicloud, edge, and IoT environments.
Architecture and technology stack
To support their digital transformation aspirations, Contoso Motors stores have a robust technology stack, services, and processes. To demonstrate the various use cases mentioned below, a set of reference use-cases is included:
- Welding - Optimizing welding processes for precision and efficiency, ensuring high-quality welds and minimizing defects through advanced techniques and technologies.
- AI-driven Safety - Implementing artificial intelligence to enhance safety protocols, proactively identifying potential hazards and mitigating risks to ensure a secure working environment for personnel.
- Computer Vision for Object and Defect Detection - Leveraging computer vision algorithms to detect and classify objects on the manufacturing line, as well as identifying defects with high accuracy and speed, streamlining quality control processes.
- IT/OT Operations and Observability - Integrating IT and operational technology (OT) systems to enhance visibility and control over manufacturing operations, enabling real-time monitoring, analysis, and optimization for increased productivity and reliability.
The number of services, platforms, and solutions included in the Contoso Motors scenario is substantial!
Advanced Analytics and Automation:
RTSP and OPC simulators, along with the Intel OpenVino Inference Engine, demonstrate advanced capabilities in video analytics and industrial automation, allowing for real-time analysis and optimization of industrial processes.
Data Management and Analysis:
Azure IoT Operations and Azure Data Explorer provide robust data management and analysis capabilities, ensuring efficient handling of large volumes of data generated by IoT devices.
Communication and Event Processing:
MQTT facilitates seamless communication between devices and systems, while Event Grid and Event Hub enable real-time event processing and streamlined data ingestion, ensuring responsiveness and agility in data processing workflows.
Edge Computing:
AKS Edge Essentials empowers edge computing environments with scalability and agility, enabling the deployment and management of containerized applications closer to the data source.
Data Visualization:
Grafana and InfluxDB offer powerful visualization and monitoring capabilities, allowing users to gain actionable insights from data, visualize performance metrics, and track system health.
Observability and Monitoring:
The deployment of Prometheus alongside Grafana enhances monitoring and observability, providing comprehensive insights into system performance and health metrics, thus ensuring proactive maintenance and optimization.
Getting started
Ready to try it out? To begin, simply visit the Arc Jumpstart Agora page. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to engage with us through Jumpstart GitHub Discussions or by opening an issue in the Jumpstart GitHub repository. Your input drives our continuous improvement and innovation.
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