CONTACT introduces a powerful, scalable AI infrastructure for demanding industrial environments. CONTACT Fourier AI combines leading AI technologies with full data sovereignty and deep Engineering and Manufacturing Intelligence – delivering maximum efficiency and speed in development, production, and service.
For industrial companies, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a vision of the future. Instead, they are faced with the challenge of using this technology safely, efficiently, and profitably. Instead of delivering real value, general AI tools fail to meet industrial requirements, fragment the data and system landscape, drive up operational costs, and compromise data sovereignty.
With Fourier AI, CONTACT now provides the technological basis for the next level of industrial value creation. The holistic Fourier AI architecture is specifically designed for the complex requirements of mechanical and plant engineering, the automotive sector, and highly compliance-driven industries. It anchors AI in every phase of the product lifecycle and significantly increases productivity. “Fourier AI makes AI a strategic success factor,” says Karl Heinz Zachries, CEO of CONTACT. “Thanks to its outstanding automation capabilities, companies become faster, boost their productivity, and today’s labor cost disadvantages become less significant in global competition.”
Domain-specific AI for industrial requirements
Unlike general AI tools, Fourier AI provides domain-specific AI applications in public cloud, private cloud, or on-premises environments that make multimodal data contextually and seamlessly available. “We developed Fourier because industrial AI has different requirements than consumer applications,” explains Frank Patz-Brockmann, CTO of CONTACT. “Engineers who are looking for similar components, for example, need AI that has a precise understanding of geometries, materials, and manufacturing processes.”
To achieve this, Fourier AI combines leading AI models with highly specialized AI applications developed by CONTACT for demanding engineering tasks. The Fourier Orchestrator dynamically and automatically selects the best model for each task – whether from third-party providers, open source, or in-house development. In addition to saving time, it provides a transparent overview of usage and precise cost control.
Seamless integration into CONTACT Elements
The strength of CONTACT’s Industrial AI offering over existing solutions on the market lies in its interaction with the modular CONTACT Elements platform. Fourier AI is deeply integrated into the platform’s end-to-end architecture as an intelligent layer and makes all engineering processes and data available contextually across disciplines. This enables AI applications to deliver reliable results based on a holistic understanding of the product development process – from the initial customer requirement to the finished assembly or product. Existing security policies and access rights of the platform are automatically adopted, and every action is comprehensively documented in an audit-proof manner. This guarantees maximum compliance and audit security.
Digital sovereignty as standard
Fourier AI was developed according to the “Security by Design” principle and offers full data sovereignty. The Fourier AI architecture ensures that sensitive engineering data can remain entirely local at the customer’s premises, while compute-intensive AI operations run anonymously in a GDPR-compliant, secure cloud environment. This guarantees maximum protection of the customer’s data and know-how. CONTACT Elements’ robust role and rights concept ensures that the AI only accesses the information for which respective users are authorized.
