P&ID Co-Pilot Project | Exciting Collaboration between Siemens, Linde, and the TU Delft’s Process Intelligence Research Group

Nieuws - 18 april 2024

An exciting, new, innovative collaboration in the field of process systems engineering is launched. The Process Intelligence Research Group at Delft University of Technology, in partnership with Siemens and Linde, is embarking on a new project: the development of the P&ID Co-Pilot. This is a Generative AI tool designed to revolutionise the creation of Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams (P&IDs).

P&IDs are essential to the process development phase, serving as the blueprint for the design and operation of process systems. Recognising the complexity and critical nature of developing accurate and efficient P&IDs, this collaboration aims to use Generative AI to innovate and streamline this process.

The approach

Their approach is inspired by the success of end-to-end transformer-based models in human language translation. They are adapting this technology to the field of process engineering by proposing a data-driven method that predicts control structures through the translation of Process Flow Diagrams (PFDs) into P&IDs. By using the SFILES 2.0 notation to represent P&IDs and PFDs as strings, they leverage established transformer-based language models to facilitate this translation task.

Unique collaboration

This collaboration is uniquely positioned to drive innovation in process engineering. By combining the practical process engineering expertise of Linde with the technological and software development prowess of Siemens, and underpinned by the cutting-edge research conducted by the Process Intelligence Research Group at TU Delft, they are creating a synergy that promises to deliver unparalleled advancements in the field. What makes this collaboration particularly exciting is the opportunity to blend real-world engineering insights with the latest in technology and AI research. This ensures that their developments are not only technologically advanced but also deeply rooted in the practical needs and realities of process engineering. “We are just at the beginning of this exciting journey and are eager to share our progress with you. Stay tuned for updates on our first results and milestones as we move forward with the P&ID Co-Pilot project. Together, we are setting the stage for a new era in process engineering, where innovation and efficiency are at the forefront,” states the team of the Process Intelligence Research Group with great enthusiasm.