Artificial Intelligence in Machine Automation

“We need to have strong critical thinking skills,” says Sindri Ólafsson, engineer and CTO of AI at Marel, about the qualities people need to possess in the current industrial revolution. Sindri's background is interesting. He began studying carpentry and was only a short time away from completing his apprenticeship and taking the journeyman's exam when the financial crash happened in 2008. Due to the situation in society, he was unable to finish his apprenticeship and therefore started studying construction technology at Reykjavík University, which he felt would be a good fit with carpentry. He always intended to finish the journeyman's exam, but he was introduced to basic programming during his studies, became fascinated, and switched to high-tech engineering.

Not afraid to pick up a wrench

However, the mindset and professional knowledge that carpenters need to acquire have served him well in his studies, life, and work. Not least the experience of adapting projects to the reality on the worksite. He says he's not afraid to pick up a wrench and a ratchet and to take on various projects. “Having this experience on a worksite gives you the confidence to think outside the box.” Sindri went on to do a master's degree at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, studying Mechatronics. He focused on measurement technology in his studies and working with sensors. “How you can get the most accurate sensor values. In machine language, I was asking: How do machines see?” After graduating, he got an exciting job at Marel developing cutting robots.

A strong culture of innovation at Marel

Marel is an exemplary company in supporting and promoting innovation. Sindri says many aspects of the company's culture contribute to a good culture of innovation. Independent work methods and creativity are encouraged. “The culture is strong in that people are open to using new technology to solve complex problems. But there are also a lot of ambitious, smart, and fun people that you have the opportunity to work with every day. Even though I'm sitting here discussing what we're doing, I'm not alone but part of a large team. It's incredibly fun to get the opportunity to work in a diverse industry. We have offices all over the world, so you're in daily contact with people from all over the world with diverse backgrounds,” says Sindri, adding that it's both exciting and challenging to get to broaden one's horizons.

In this informative interview, Sindri discusses his work at Marel in detail, the use of artificial intelligence in controlling cutting robots and other projects, and shares his vision for the development of technology in industry in the coming years.