So nutzt Krones digitale Zwillinge und KI in der Produktion

Overview

Krones, working with technology-ecosystem partners Ansys (part of Synopsys), Cadfem, Microsoft Azure, Nvidia (Omniverse/OpenUSD) and SoftServe, developed 'Agentic Digital Twins' that combine physically exact real-time simulation with AI agents capable of judgment and decision-making for beverage production lines. Simulation runs that previously took three to four hours now complete in under five minutes; the AI agents test scenarios and settings, optimize workflows, and transfer the best solutions to real equipment. The digital twin was used in developing Krones' new 'Ingeniq' line concept, presented at Drinktec 2025. Compute-intensive simulations run on Microsoft Azure using Nvidia's accelerated computing platform.

The challenge

Individual simulation runs for Krones' beverage production machines and lines previously took three to four hours, too slow for real-time optimization in highly dynamic manufacturing. The limited ability to quickly test different scenarios delayed decisions and led to higher resource consumption, inefficient production and a lack of agility.

The solution

Working with technology-ecosystem partners Ansys (part of Synopsys), Cadfem, Microsoft, Nvidia and SoftServe, Krones developed physically exact digital twins with integrated AI agents ('Agentic Digital Twins') using Nvidia Omniverse libraries and OpenUSD. The AI agents test different scenarios and settings in a virtual model and automatically optimize workflows through an optimization loop that analyzes simulation results, adjusts parameters, and starts new runs; the best solutions are then transferred to the real equipment. Compute-intensive simulations run in the Microsoft Azure cloud on Nvidia's accelerated computing platform.

Reported business value

Simulation runs that previously took three to four hours now complete in under five minutes, a result achieved within about two months. Benefits include faster commissioning of machines and plants, higher efficiency, fewer downtimes, data-driven performance, lower water consumption, and round-the-clock optimally configured equipment. The digital twin was used to develop and optimize Krones' new 'Ingeniq' line concept, presented at Drinktec 2025.