AI, AI, and AI – anytime, anywhere. AI is the star tech ok the century, powering every technical field today. Many industries are using AI to enable digitization and gain efficient business growth. The pandemic ignited the rapid digital transformation and changed the way industries work. The textile industry is no exception as they are now incorporating AI and automation in transforming their production, manufacturing processes, customer relation, etc.
An increase in demand for quality products has led the textile industry to embrace automation and AI to minimize labor and production costs. This revolutionary incorporation of technology can also facilitate product delivery according to customer preferences.
Textile is always a labor-intensive industry and various technologies like AI and IoT have made data processing easier and have efficiently taken up massive work without human intervention.
Inspection of fabric patterns
AI technology like Artificial Neural Network (ANN) facilitates defect detection in patterns like weaving and knitting. The AI-enabled vision-based inspection can reduce human errors and thereby increase efficiency. For example, Cognex ViDi developed by Cognex Corp. is an example of an AI-based technology that can automatically inspect fabric patterns.
AI-enabled fabric pattern inspection accelerates manufacturing by reducing pattern defects with minimum labor and maximum precision and accuracy. AI can also be used in fabric defect detection, traditionally done by the human workforce by individually analyzing each piece of fabric to understand its quality. Manual detection is laborious and time-consuming wherein AI will make the process quicker with fewer intrusions.
Pattern Making and AI
Pattern cutting and pattern making is a crucial process in the textile industry in which fabrics are cut according to the prescribed design and different patterns are made on the fabric. Computer-Aided Design (CAD) is an AI subset that enables computerized pattern making where the designers can make the basic structure of patterns and digitize them. CAD is used in cutting patterns where it provides 3-D images of the fabric and designs, making visualization easier.
Merchandising
AI can indeed be used to automate transportation and packaging in textile industries. Good supply chain management requires huge storage spaces, precise warehouse management, product segregation, and better communication; AI can provide all these benefits through robotics, RPA, machine learning, IoT, and other technologies.
Intelligent Clothes
The future textile industry is expected to leverage AI to develop more innovations like smart clothing. Smart apparels are designed to have sensors and integrated technology that monitor our body and health condition through biometrics. Further, this technology will also help in self-detecting irregularities in heart rates, and hence consistent monitoring might even help diagnose heart-related diseases. Intelligent clothes can benefit the sports and fitness industry by tracking training progress, monitoring physical state, predicting injuries, and helping people analyze their health in near future.
AI is sure to play a major role in redefining the textile industry in the coming years, by enhancing business growth and introducing sustainable fashion. These applications of artificial intelligence will help transform the textile industry for innovative business developments. The quality of the fabric is highly significant for maintaining industry value, it cannot and should not be compromised.
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