[TC Webinar] AI Meets IEC 61499: From Academic Concepts to Industrial Deployment
Monday 30 November 2026 at 10:00 AM CET, 04:00 PM CST China
By Valeriy Vyatkin (Aalto University, Finland) and Franco Cavadini (CTO at gr3n, Italy)
Register now using the link below:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7511061255955733595
Abstract:
Artificial intelligence is moving from experimentation toward practical deployment in industrial automation. In this presentation, Valeriy Vyatkin and Franco Cavadini combine academic and industrial experience to examine how IEC 61499 can provide a structured foundation for integrating AI into automation architectures.
The session begins with a refresher on component-based and distributed automation, explicit interfaces and semantics, software and hardware decoupling, and the role of the UniversalAutomation.org ecosystem. Drawing on his involvement with IEC 61499 since 1999, standardization work, and research in intelligent automation, Valeriy will explore directions in AI-assisted engineering and flexible cyber-physical systems. He will also share insights informed by the development of an IEC 61499 nano-PLC and an integrated development environment featuring an AI engineering agent.
Franco will translate these concepts into industrial practice, drawing on more than 15 years of experience in automation and advanced control systems. From his work at gr3n, he will examine modularity, software reuse, industrial data architectures, and the interaction between AI services and operational technologies in process-industry applications.
Together, the speakers will discuss where AI should sit, what must remain deterministic, how explicit semantics support integration, and how organizations can move from concepts to scalable deployment in greenfield and brownfield systems.
Presenters’ bio:
Valeriy Vyatkin is Professor of Information Technologies in Automation at Aalto University, Finland, and Visiting Professor at Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. An IEEE Fellow and former IEEE IES Vice President for Technical Activities (2022–2025), he is an internationally recognised expert in industrial automation. He has been actively involved with IEC 61499 since 1999 and is a member of its standardization committee. His research focuses on IEC 61499-based distributed and intelligent automation, AI-assisted engineering, and flexible cyber-physical systems. He is also co-founder of Flexbridge, which developed the first IEC 61499 nano-PLC and an IEC 61499 IDE with an integrated AI engineering agent.
Franco Cavadini is CTO of gr3n, a technology company developing and industrializing an innovative process for chemical recycling of PET. He holds a PhD in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence and has more than fifteen years of experience in industrial automation and advanced control systems.
His work has focused extensively on distributed automation, IEC 61499 and software-defined automation, from both architectural and industrial-implementation perspectives. At gr3n, he is leading the application of these principles to process-industry automation, with particular attention to modularity, software reuse, industrial data architectures and the integration of AI with operational technologies.
Franco is also a founding member of UniversalAutomation.org.