Renault-Geely-Aramco owned Horse Powertrain, a specialist in low-emission automotive powertrain systems, has deployed the Siemens Inspekto Visual Inspection system at its Skövde engine production plant (through its Aurobay Technologies division).
Powered by artificial intelligence (AI), the system automates quality checks at the engine inspection station, replacing a process previously performed by hand.
Engines arrive at the AI-powered inspection station via automated guided vehicles. A vision camera mounted on a collaborative robot performs defect analysis in a few seconds, storing all images to support traceable, searchable records across the production line. The system is compatible with plastic, metal, and combinations of hard materials, covering the range of components that pass through the station.
Before the deployment, manual defect detection at the station was time-intensive and placed repetitive physical demands on operators. The Inspekto system requires no prior Machine Vision experience to set up, run, or maintain. Production staff can add or remove inspection control points without changing robot parameters.
Ingo Scholten, Managing Director of Aurobay Technologies Sweden, said: “Skövde has been building engines for close to a century. The people on this line carry knowledge that cannot be written in a manual. Inspekto puts that knowledge to work consistently, across every shift and every station. It does not replace their judgment. It scales it."
Inspekto integrates with Horse Powertrain's existing automation infrastructure via Siemens TIA Portal, connecting to the Simatic S7 control system and Simatic HMI panels. The system is designed to be set up and maintained by operators without specialist knowledge. A team can connect it, evaluate it against live products, and reach a go or no-go decision within two hours of installation.
Horse Powertrain maintains the software is easy to update for improving or adding new defects over time. The system can be positioned at the start of the production line, mid-line for assembly verification, or at the end for final quality control, giving the Skövde team flexibility in how and where it runs, the company says.
