On October 13, 2025, a conference about the future of manufacturing was being held at the Foton Cummins factory in Beijing. There were no dazzling lights inside the factory. Instead, there were precise tightening actions by robots, silent guidance for material collection by lasers, and digital twins in the virtual world that were perfectly synchronized with the physical workstations. This technology festival not only showcased the latest achievements of the deep integration of AI and manufacturing, but also released the "Future Workstation" of Foton Cummins, providing practical and replicable solutions for manufacturing to overcome efficiency bottlenecks, labor force transformation, and flexible production at a crucial juncture when the global manufacturing industry is undergoing intelligent, digital, and green transformation.
Foton Cummins has taken concrete actions to make a clear-cut declaration: In today's era of rapid development of artificial intelligence and embodied intelligence technologies, "AI + manufacturing" has completely moved beyond the conceptual stage and is now starting from the "workstation", the most fundamental cellular unit of the manufacturing industry, to restructure the entire production system's genes.
01 Grasp industry trends: AI + Manufacturing
Become the core engine for ecological reconfiguration
In the current context where global manufacturing is moving towards intelligentization, digitization and green, artificial intelligence is no longer merely an auxiliary tool but has become the core engine driving industrial transformation.
Chen Jian, the general manager of Foton Cummins, pointed out that the core of this year's Manufacturing Technology Festival theme "Inspire New Era, Jointly Promote the Entire Chain" is precisely the recognition that intelligent manufacturing is not an isolated technological upgrade, but an ecological reconfiguration, a fusion of value chains, and a profound transformation of development models.
Sun Damiao, the president of the Automotive Intelligent Manufacturing Branch of the China Equipment Management Association, accurately pointed out the essence of this transformation in his opening speech: "Today's digital transformation is moving from tool-based empowerment to systematic reshaping. It is no longer merely optimizing existing business processes, but rather fundamentally reconfiguring production relations and value creation methods." This indicates that the trend of intelligent manufacturing has undergone profound changes, no longer focusing on single technological innovation, but instead building a new intelligent manufacturing ecosystem through AI and big data.
Ouyang Jinsong, the director of the Comprehensive Technical and Economic Research Institute for Instrumentation and Equipment in the Machinery Industry, provided a more profound explanation from the perspective of standard and paradigm evolution: "Intelligent manufacturing is a new production mode that realizes self-sensing, self-learning, self-decision-making, self-execution, and self-adaptation through integrated and intelligent technological means." He stated that AI + manufacturing is not a simple technological upgrade, but a fundamental transformation of enterprise form and industrial model. The future manufacturing model will be a cross-regional and borderless value network.
AI + Manufacturing Practical Application: Future Workstations
Reconstructing the Intelligent Manufacturing Model of the Leading Factory
Under the circumstances of efficiency bottlenecks, labor force structure transformation and the rising demand for flexible production, the "Future Workstation" launched by Foton Cummins is not merely a simple technological upgrade; rather, it represents a fundamental reconfiguration of the traditional production model.
What is a "Future Workstation"?
It is not an isolated automated island, nor is it a simple assembly of high-tech equipment.
Zheng Qinke, the factory director of Foton Cummins, pointed out during the release: "The Future Workstation is a platform, and more importantly, a concept." This positioning is of crucial significance as it reveals the essence of the Future Workstation - an open, integrated, and scalable intelligent operation system.
This people-centered intelligent operation unit integrates thirteen core modules such as visual tightening positioning, laser material extraction guidance, intelligent error prevention system LOTO door lock, safety area scanning, humanoid robot sorting, robot dog inspection, and virtual debugging system, forming a complete closed loop of data-driven, flexible configuration, human-machine collaboration, and quality built-in.
The value of this intelligent operation system lies in its inherent operational logic: centered around humans, based on automation, the industrial internet, and AI-driven human-machine collaborative intelligent operation units.
Foton Cummins' profound practice reveals a profound transformation in the manufacturing logic:
First, from humans adapting to machines to machines empowering humans. Workers are no longer the "screws" performing repetitive actions on the production line; instead, they are liberated from the heavy and repetitive labor through AI and automation technologies, transforming into knowledge-based operators who handle anomalies, make optimizations, and engage in knowledge innovation. Zheng Qinke emphasized: "Humans are the most core issue driving the entire development of intelligent manufacturing. We must always adhere to people-oriented principles."
Second, from fixed production lines to reconfigurable units. In response to the market trend of multiple varieties and small batches, traditional rigid production lines are struggling. In the future, workstations have achieved high flexibility through modular design and software definition, and can quickly respond to the switching of production tasks.
Thirdly, from post-event inspection to quality embedded. Quality is no longer merely a final inspection step; instead, it is integrated into every manufacturing process through means such as visual inspection, real-time monitoring of tightening data, and predictive maintenance, aiming to achieve zero defects from the very beginning.
Exploring and implementing to provide industry samples
Under the global consensus of "AI x Data = Future", Foton Cummins' "AI + Manufacturing" has moved from concept validation to large-scale application. Through the five-layer architecture of foundation layer, business layer, technology layer, platform layer, and application layer, AI has been deeply integrated into the entire manufacturing chain, forming a vivid and implementable practical experience. This is based on profound industry insights and clear strategic determination.
Bai Yuan, the Director of Operations for the Chinese Joint Venture of the Cummins Engine Division and the Director of Manufacturing in China, highlighted the DNA of Foton: always leading in technological investment. He praised Foton for demonstrating in practical actions that the future of manufacturing is rooted in the intelligence, and its achievements not only enhanced its own efficiency and product quality, but also provided a sample for the entire industry's exploration in intelligent manufacturing, contributing valuable assets to Cummins' global intelligent manufacturing map.
The internal driving force is an important engine for the AI+ manufacturing exploration of Foton Cummins. In the Foton Cummins Lighthouse Factory, AI visual robots achieve assembly operations with millimeter-level precision through a 3D vision system; the AGV intelligent logistics system is deeply integrated with the automated warehouse to build a flexible material distribution system; AI-driven "predictive maintenance of equipment" can alert in advance of equipment failures.
These practices are not isolated - relying on Foton's Intelligence Computing Platform and Intelligent Agent Development Platform, a closed loop of data, algorithm, and application is formed, creating a solid technical foundation for the AI+ manufacturing practice of the Lighthouse Factory.
04 Ripple-like impact on industry upgrading:
Promoting intelligent transformation of the manufacturing industry
The value of "Future Workstations" has extended across the entire industry chain: For workers, human-machine collaboration enables a transition from manual labor to knowledge-based operations; for factory operations, efficiency has increased by 25%, energy consumption has decreased by 5%, and the new product cycle has been shortened through predictive maintenance and virtual debugging; for the industry as a whole, its modular unit model provides a feasible path from single-point breakthroughs to system integration for the discrete manufacturing sector.
Meng Fanyi, the vice president of Beiqi Foton, outlines the future blueprint: "We expect to expand AI + manufacturing from a single workstation to an entire production line, a factory, and even the entire industry."
The "Future Workstation" released this time is not only a micro-practice of intelligent manufacturing, but also marks an industrial transformation where AI moves from the cloud to the workshop and from a general model to a specific scenario. It provides a practical, replicable and mutually beneficial model for the intelligent upgrade of the manufacturing industry. Foton Cummins will work with its industry chain partners to explore new paths for the intelligent upgrade of the manufacturing industry. The Future Workstation is precisely the guiding light that illuminates the path ahead.