AI-WELD: Artificial Intelligence as a Response to the Labor Shortage in Welding

The welding industry in the region is facing a serious challenge – a growing shortage of skilled workers to meet market demands. In response, the Institute for Artificial Intelligence of Serbia, in partnership with the Center of Competence for Advanced Engineering from Nova Gradiška (Croatia), is implementing the AI-WELD project under the Interreg program.

The aim of the project is to develop an automated welding system based on the use of collaborative robots. The idea emerged from a shared need on both sides of the border to find a sustainable solution to the labor shortage affecting the industry.

“For a robot to operate autonomously, it must be able to perceive its environment and have an efficient control algorithm. That is precisely the focus of this project – by applying artificial intelligence, we are enabling the robot to recognize objects, accurately determine their position, and then weld along predefined joints,” explains Dr. Dragiša Mišković, Assistant Director for Business Cooperation and Team Lead of the Human–Machine Interaction research group at the Institute, in an interview for NIN.

The AI-WELD project represents an important step toward the technological transformation of traditional industries, strengthening collaboration between Serbia and Croatia, and expanding the use of artificial intelligence in real-world industrial environments.

The full interview is available at the following link.