Dean Oren & Stefan Belsch

From Factory Floor to Kubernetes Core: Building an Edge Platform One Step at a Time

It started with a simple need: connect machines on the factory floor. It became a critical Kubernetes edge platform powering AI and manufacturing at Lidl and Kaufland.

From Factory Floor to Kubernetes Core: Building an Edge Platform One Step at a Time
#1about 4 minutes

Introducing the platform for Schwarz Group's industrial operations

An overview of the challenge of bridging industrial operations and modern software at the Schwarz Group's diverse divisions like Kaufland and PreZero.

#2about 2 minutes

The platform's origin and core design principles

The platform began in 2020 to solve machine connectivity challenges, guided by principles like using Git everywhere and a hub-and-spoke model.

#3about 2 minutes

Evolving the platform from POC to critical infrastructure

The platform evolved from a proof-of-concept to a critical, automated system with 24/7 support by using Terraform and Azure DevOps pipelines.

#4about 1 minute

A pragmatic approach to tool selection and evolution

Tooling decisions are documented with ADRs, prioritizing open-source solutions first while adopting enterprise tools for security and scalability needs.

#5about 2 minutes

A high-level overview of the platform architecture

The architecture uses a hub-and-spoke model with on-prem Kubernetes control planes managing edge devices running K3s and cloud-based SKE clusters.

#6about 3 minutes

Use case: AI-driven foreign object detection in manufacturing

A practical example shows how the platform supports an AI application for quality assurance on a factory conveyor belt using an integrated observability stack.

#7about 2 minutes

Onboarding a new edge device using a GitOps workflow

A new edge device is automatically bootstrapped with K3s and connected to the control plane using an Argo CD job triggered by changes in Azure.

#8about 1 minute

Future plans for automation and self-service capabilities

The team plans to build a 'control plane of control planes' and a self-service interface for customers to bootstrap their own edge devices.

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