Smart thinking: Deloitte, Amazon, and partners open smart factory in Kansas

The machines, platforms, and other systems in The Smart Factory @ Wichita communicate seamlessly.

The grand opening of a futuristic factory took place in June on the campus of Wichita State University.

Called The Smart Factory @ Wichita, the 60,000-sq.-ft. facility “assembles a first-of-its-kind ecosystem of more than 20 world-renowned solution providers, technology innovators, and futurists to help solve the toughest challenges in manufacturing,” according to a press release.

It was conceived, planned, financed, and built in response to COVID-19’s impact on the supply chain, labor shortages, and fluctuations in the global economy, according to two of the project’s sponsors, Deloitte Consulting LLP and Amazon Web Services (AWS).

“The Smart Factory @ Wichita showcases the power and potential of bringing together some of the world’s greatest minds and solutions in a comprehensive ecosystem to demonstrate practical manufacturing applications,” said Deloitte Consulting principal and Smart Factory leader, Stephen Laaper. “We are helping organizations accelerate innovation and make Industry 4.0 a reality.”

The Smart Factory features a fully functioning production line and showcases a variety of advanced manufacturing techniques. Machines, platforms, and other systems communicate seamlessly, resulting in an integrated factory floor that’s agile and informed.

The sponsors expect the facility to draw more than 5,000 visitors to the local area over the next 12 months, including leaders from world-renowned companies. Visitors will experience smart factory concepts that bring together the Internet of Things, the cloud, artificial intelligence, computer vision, and other interconnected systems that draw on data to drive intelligent actions.

Besides Deloitte and AWS, the project founders are Dragos, Infor, SAP, Siemens, and Wichita State University. Other organizations involved in the project include Check Point, HPE, Tenable, ServiceNow, UiPath, and Verizon.