ARIA for Industrial & Manufacturing

Autonomy & Control Model

AI does not execute actions by default. AriaOS operates in Human-In-The-Loop (HITL) mode unless a constrained autonomy profile is explicitly enabled.

Human approval is required for all actions unless constrained autonomy is explicitly configured
Autonomous execution is profile-gated, policy-enforced, and continuously audit-verified
See Autonomy Model for execution mode details

What Breaks Under Stress

Manufacturing facilities rely on cloud-based MES, predictive maintenance, and supply chain visibility tools. When internet connectivity fails—due to network outages, cyberattacks, or infrastructure failures—production lines lose visibility into work orders, quality metrics, and inventory levels.

Operators revert to manual tracking. Quality anomalies propagate undetected. Post-incident review reveals incomplete production records, undocumented operator overrides, and unverifiable chain of custody for materials and finished goods.

Why Traditional Architectures Fail Here

Cloud-based MES and ERP systems assume persistent internet connectivity
Predictive maintenance and anomaly detection tools fail during WAN outages
Supply chain visibility and inventory tracking rely on external cloud services
Quality assurance and defect detection require cloud-based AI inference
Audit trails for production records, material usage, and operator actions are fragmented
Manual failover to paper-based tracking creates synchronization delays and data loss

What ARIA Enforces Instead

Offline-First Execution

Production oversight, quality assurance, and inventory tracking continue without internet connectivity. AI advisory runs on local sensor data.

Profile-Gated Control

Operator authority is bound to role and production policy. Process overrides require justification and are logged immutably.

Immutable Audit

Every production decision, quality override, and material usage is recorded with synchronized timestamps for regulatory compliance.

AI Advisory (Intent, Not Autonomy)

AI suggests process optimizations, quality alerts, and maintenance schedules. Operators authorize execution.

How ARIA Fits

ARIA sits between MES/ERP platforms and plant floor systems (PLCs, HMIs, sensors, robots). It does not replace existing manufacturing execution or enterprise resource planning systems. It coordinates production workflows, quality monitoring, and inventory tracking when cloud connectivity is unavailable.

Deployment Notes

No replacement of existing MES, ERP, or plant control infrastructure
Works with or without internet connectivity to cloud-based enterprise systems
Synchronizes state when connectivity is restored
Integrates with OPC UA, Modbus, MQTT, and enterprise APIs

Operational Characteristics

No-login operation after setup: operators authenticated once per shift
Deterministic behavior under degradation: no heuristic fallbacks or probabilistic quality assessments without explicit uncertainty bounds
Explainability by design: AI recommendations include reasoning traces and confidence levels
Offline work order management, quality tracking, and inventory reconciliation
State synchronization resumes automatically when internet connectivity returns

Relevant ARIA Subsystems

Control Layer

Weighted voting governance for process overrides and emergency shutdown authorization.

Event Ledger

Immutable log of all production decisions, quality overrides, and material usage with tamper-evident timestamps.

AI Advisory

Anomaly detection, process optimization, and predictive maintenance with explainable recommendations.

Profile System

Role-based access for operators, quality engineers, and production managers.

Edge Control

Coordination of distributed production lines, quality stations, and material handling systems.

Who This Is Built For

Plant Operators & Engineers

Personnel managing production lines, quality assurance, and maintenance during normal and contingency operations.

Compliance Officers

Officials requiring verifiable audit trails for ISO, FDA, or industry-specific regulatory compliance.

Auditors

Teams validating production decisions, quality overrides, and material chain-of-custody documentation.

System Engineers

Integration teams connecting ARIA to MES, ERP, SCADA, and plant floor control networks.

Industrial Operations Research

Current work focuses on validating production oversight, quality assurance, and inventory tracking behavior when cloud-based MES and ERP systems lose internet connectivity.

This research examines how work order management, defect detection, and material chain-of-custody logging behave during sustained network outages and external API unavailability. Learn more about ongoing research →