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EDWartens UK

Free course · AI and machine learning

AI for Industrial Automation

The hub of the industrial track: where AI actually sits beside PLC, SCADA, MES and the historian; which of the seven use cases pay and what data each needs; OPC UA, MQTT and the unified namespace; edge against cloud; predictive maintenance as a business case; vision, digital twins, copilots and agents; the vendor landscape; safety, security and governance — ending with a readiness audit of a real process.

See the modules

Free to learn. Verifiable certificate £19 when you pass the final exam (optional, VAT included).

Level
Intermediate
Modules
13
Video
12 hours
Price
Free

Outcome

What you will be able to do

Place any AI proposal on the control hierarchy and the use-case map; inventory a plant's data and its quality problems; choose OPC UA, MQTT or a unified namespace for getting data to a model; decide edge or cloud; build the predictive-maintenance business case; specify a vision, twin or copilot project with the PLC in charge; read a vendor demo critically; apply functional safety, 62443 and change control to a model; and write the eight-section readiness audit a plant manager can fund.

  • Place any AI proposal on the control hierarchy and say what the PLC keeps
  • Match a plant problem to one of seven use cases and name the label it needs
  • Get data to a model with OPC UA, MQTT and a unified namespace without loading the PLC
  • Decide edge or cloud, and size the box
  • Build the predictive-maintenance business case with sourced numbers
  • Write the eight-section AI readiness audit a plant manager can fund

Software

None required. Pandas on the track's datasets for the optional business-case project.

Hardware

None.

Syllabus

13 modules

Each module has video lessons, notes and a short quiz. The final exam closes the course.

  1. 1Where AI sits in a plant3 lessons
  2. 2The use-case map2 lessons
  3. 3The data a plant already has1 lessonLab
  4. 4Getting data out: OPC UA, MQTT and the unified namespace5 lessonsLab
  5. 5Edge or cloud4 lessons
  6. 6Predictive maintenance as a business case4 lessons
  7. 7Machine vision and AI inspection6 lessonsLab
  8. 8Digital twins and simulation4 lessons
  9. 9Copilots and agents for the engineering office2 lessonsLab
  10. 10The vendor landscape5 lessons
  11. 11Safety, security and governance2 lessons
  12. 12The AI readiness audit1 lesson
  13. 13Final assessment0 lessons

How it works

How this course works

  1. Watch the video lessonsOne module at a time, at your own pace.
  2. Take the module quizA short quiz at the end of each module shows what stuck.
  3. Keep your notesWrite in My notes beside each module and ask the trainer if you are stuck.
  4. Practise in the labOptionalTry a task from the module in the EDWartens Lab, in your browser.
  5. Sit the final examPass it once you have been through the modules.
  6. Certificate, if you want oneOptionalPaid, and only after you pass. Anyone can check it online.

EDWartens Lab

Practise this in the EDWartens Lab

Train a model on plant data, move the decision threshold and weigh the cost of errors in the Lab's AI workbench.

Works alongside AI for Industrial Automation. The Lab is ai for industry practice in your browser: no install, no hardware, free to use. Sign in as a learner and it opens with your account.

Open the free lab See the Lab
AI for industry: Build AI models.

Levels to try with this course

Optional. Skip it whenever you like: it never blocks your progress or your certificate.

Why practise in a lab

Technical work is judged on what you can do: wiring, commissioning, finding a fault. Doing a task yourself teaches more than watching it a second time, and a lab lets you try it safely before you meet real equipment. It does not replace working on real hardware.

  • Practise safely, so a mistake costs nothing.
  • The lab checks your work like a site test, so you know when it is right.
  • Free, in your browser, with nothing to install.

Certificate

An optional certificate when you pass

Learning is free. Pass the final exam and you can have a certificate for £19, including VAT, with a number employers can check online. It records that you completed a free online course; it is not a regulated qualification or a CPD certificate.

  • Your name, the course, its study time and your final exam score
  • A unique certificate number and a QR code to its verification page
  • Issued by Wartens Ltd; add it to your LinkedIn profile in one click
  • Pay now or after you pass: it is issued the moment you pass the final

How the certificate works

Sample certificate for AI for Industrial Automation

Credits

Who made the lessons

The video lessons belong to their creators. EDWartens wrote the study plan, notes, quizzes and the final exam.

Questions

About this course

Is this a coding course?
No. It is the decision course: what to do first, with what data, on which box, under which rules. The Predictive Maintenance, Machine Vision and Industrial Data courses are where you then build it.
Who is it for?
Automation, electrical and instrumentation engineers who are being asked about AI by their managers or their customers, and want to answer with a plan rather than a vendor's brochure.
What are the projects?
A readiness audit of one real process — cost of the problem, data inventory, use-case shortlist, a six-week first project, architecture, governance and the ask — or a quantified predictive-maintenance business case on the track's datasets for learners without a plant of their own.
Is the course really free?
Yes. Every module, practice task, project and assessment. You create an account so your progress is saved and the assessments can be marked. The certificate is the only paid item, and only if you want it.
What certificate do I get?
An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you have finished the modules and passed the final assessment (the project is optional practice), with a verification code anyone can check. It is not a vendor credential and is never described as one.
Who made the video lessons?
The creators named in the Credits block at the foot of this page, on their own YouTube channels. EDWartens did not make the videos and the creators are not affiliated with EDWartens. What EDWartens wrote is the study plan, the notes, the practice tasks, the projects and the assessments.
How long does the course take?
Plan on about 12 hours in all, including the video lessons, notes and practice tasks. It is self-paced, so you work through the thirteen modules at your own speed.

Industrial AI engineer

Take it with

See the whole path

The Professional Module is five live days of Siemens PLC, HMI and SCADA with an instructor, then a resume session and a CPD certificate.

See the Professional Module