Honeywell & Google Cloud Boost AI for Industrial Autonomy

Honeywell (NASDAQ: HON) and Google Cloud have announced a groundbreaking collaboration aimed at enhancing autonomous operations within the industrial sector through artificial intelligence (AI) agents.

This strategic partnership will merge the multimodal and natural language capabilities of Google Cloud’s Gemini on Vertex AI with the extensive datasets available on Honeywell Forge, a leading Internet of Things (IoT) platform for industrial applications. The collaboration will enable seamless, enterprise-wide insights across various use cases, allowing Honeywell’s customers to significantly reduce maintenance costs, boost operational productivity, and upskill their workforce. The first solutions leveraging Google Cloud AI are set to be available to Honeywell customers in 2025.

“The path to autonomy requires assets working harder, people working smarter, and processes working more efficiently,” stated Vimal Kapur, Chairman and CEO of Honeywell. “By combining Google Cloud’s AI technology with our deep domain expertise and valuable data from our Honeywell Forge platform, customers will gain unparalleled, actionable insights that bridge the physical and digital worlds, driving the acceleration of autonomous operations—a key growth driver for Honeywell.”

Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, emphasized the significance of the partnership, saying, “Our collaboration with Honeywell marks a substantial advancement in harnessing the transformative power of AI for industrial operations. With Gemini on Vertex AI, along with Honeywell’s industrial data and expertise, we are creating new opportunities to optimize processes, empower workforces, and deliver meaningful business outcomes for industrial organizations globally.”

As the industrial sector faces labor and skills shortages due to the mass retirement of baby boomers, AI is poised to be part of the solution, serving as a revenue generator rather than a job eliminator. According to Honeywell’s 2024 Industrial AI Insights report, while over two-thirds (82%) of Industrial AI leaders consider their companies to be early adopters of AI, only 17% have fully launched their initial AI initiatives. This partnership aims to provide AI agents that augment existing operations and workforce capabilities, facilitating broader AI adoption and increased automation across the sector.

Honeywell and Google Cloud will co-innovate solutions focusing on:

1. Purpose-Built Industrial AI Agents 

   Designed on Google Cloud’s Vertex AI, new AI-powered agents will automate tasks and reduce project design cycles, enabling engineers to concentrate on innovation and exceptional customer experiences.

2. Enhanced Maintenance Support 

   Additional agents will utilize Google’s large language models (LLMs) to assist technicians in quickly resolving maintenance issues. Users will benefit from Gemini’s multimodality capabilities, processing various data types—images, videos, text, and sensor readings—to provide rapid answers to technical queries.

3. Enhanced Cybersecurity 

   Google Threat Intelligence, featuring insights from Mandiant, will be integrated into Honeywell’s cybersecurity products, such as Global Analysis, Research and Defense (GARD) Threat Intelligence and Secure Media Exchange (SMX), enhancing threat detection and safeguarding global industrial infrastructure.

4. On-the-Edge Device Advancements 

   Honeywell will explore the use of Google’s Gemini Nano model to enhance intelligence in Honeywell edge AI devices across multiple verticals, enabling functions like scanning performance and voice-based guided workflows, all without requiring internet connectivity.

By leveraging AI to drive growth and productivity, this partnership also aligns Honeywell’s portfolio with three compelling megatrends, including automation. This collaboration represents a significant leap forward in the integration of AI technology within the industrial sector, setting the stage for future innovations.