Siemens releases AI apps for water utilities

Siemens has expanded its software portfolio for the water industry to enable users to optimise plant operations using artificial intelligence, without the need for technical expertise. Self-service solutions enable users to address the most pressing issues in water and wastewater operations: reducing water loss, preventing pollution from sewers and ensuring the reliability of treatment assets.

"Digital technologies have not yet been widely adopted in the water sector so far," said Anja Eimer, General Manager Global Water Business at Siemens. "The existing OT and IT device landscape is complex, skilled workers are in short supply and the business benefits of many digital applications have often been unclear. With our new software offerings, we are addressing these conditions and enabling water companies to perform AI-based operational analyses."

The digitalisation solutions are offered with pre-integrated hardware and software, so that AI-based analytics applications have been combined with corresponding sensors to make the installation process as easy as possible and to achieve faster analytics results.

AI to combat leaks and pipe blockages

The SIWA Leak Finder app uses data from smart flowmeters to reduce water losses from pipe leaks by up to 50%, according to Siemens. The app's AI analyses flow data and identifies leaks as small as 0.2 litres per second. While data from any flowmeter can be used for the app, the integration of the Siemens Sitrans FM Mag8000 sensor eliminates the need for specialised knowledge or Siemens services for installation.

Siemens' SIWA Blockage Predictor application applies AI to water level data from sewers collected by sensors such as the Sitrans LR110 radar level transmitter to detect blockages, inflow and infiltration. Based on a single sensor installation, the app can be used in the event of network overflows or in manhole chambers. Siemens says the application finds nine out of ten blockages and saves users time by automatically generating performance reports for regulators.

Both the SIWA Leak Finder and SIWA Blockage Predictor apps can process and analyse operational data from smart sensors via a connection to the cloud — without the need for additional IT expertise. In this way, the sensor data is available in the respective application within two hours. The apps’ AI is automatically trained and implemented with the sensor data from the day of installation. Cybersecurity is also taken into account in the design of the apps. Mendix, Siemens' low-code platform, can also be used to create interfaces to the respective company's IT making it possible to connect the data from the SIWA apps to ERP systems.

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Originally published here.