AI agent in the control cabinet turns a plain-language machine description into PLC logic, an operator HMI and guided commissioning; months of work to hours

VIENNA, AUSTRIA, July 28, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Interkey today introduced Brain, an industrial control system that removes the programming step from machine building. Instead of writing IEC 61131-3 code in an engineering suite, the user describes the machine in plain language — heaters, motors, sensors, setpoints, safety limits — and an AI agent running on the control cabinet itself generates the control logic, builds the operator interface, configures alarms and guides the technician through commissioning.

Major automation vendors have recently added AI assistants to their engineering software, but these remain features inside an existing IDE: the buyer still selects a PLC, opens the development environment and reviews generated code as a controls engineer. Brain ships as finished hardware with the agent already inside — controller, I/O, power switching, HMI and local AI compute in one cabinet.

Proven in production

First customer Wave Trockensysteme GmbH, a Vienna-based manufacturer of industrial freeze dryers, runs Brain on its first production unit and cut commissioning time from twelve weeks to two. WAVE plans to deploy Brain across a series of 100 freeze dryers. A second development partner, DeepSleep One, uses Brain for climate control and local AI in its sleep pod — ten integrated subsystems, fully offline.

“Our machines are custom systems built in small series — control engineering used to be the slowest and most expensive part of every project. With Brain, our technician describes the machine, and the control system takes shape in a dialogue,” said Michael Marcovici, Managing Director of Wave Trockensysteme.

Sovereign by design

Brain operates air-gapped: control, AI agent, machine vision and historian run without any cloud dependency, and customers bring their own AI keys — Anthropic, OpenAI, Azure or a fully local model — so no process data leaves the building. What the agent may do is governed by a five-level permission model, from read-only access to safety-critical actions; every AI action is recorded in an immutable audit trail. Emergency stop and hardware watchdogs remain independent of the AI. A Python plugin SDK and an MCP server let machine builders extend the agent with their own domain tools.

“The bottleneck in machine building is no longer mechanics — it is control software. Brain turns months of engineering into a conversation with the machine,” said Interkey founder Moritz Marcovici.

Key facts

• Describe instead of program: the agent writes PLC logic in all five IEC 61131-3 languages, builds the HMI and guides commissioning

• Complete hardware: CompuLab i.MX8-based industrial controller plus NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano Super (40 TOPS) for local AI, up to 220 I/O points

• Safety model: five permission levels, auto-lock, e-stop, full audit trail

• Open platform: Python plugin SDK, MCP server, 100+ REST endpoints, bring-your-own-key across AI providers

• Protocols included: Modbus, MQTT, OPC UA, Sparkplug B — no per-protocol licensing

Pricing and availability

Brain Core is priced at €2,500 and Brain Pro at €5,000, each as a perpetual license with optional subscriptions for cloud features. Both ship in the third quarter of 2026; free, non-binding reservations are open at interkey.com/preorder. The Brain Vision Pack with cameras, microphones and a vibration sensor is €990. Brain Gateway, a protocol bridge that brings the Brain agent to existing Siemens, Rockwell and Beckhoff controllers, is planned for 2027 at a target price of €1,500.

To scale series production and distribution, Interkey is open to discussions with strategic partners and investors.

About Interkey

Interkey develops AI-native industrial control systems. Brain combines controller, I/O, operator interface, AI agent and machine vision in a single control cabinet, replacing a conventional multi-vendor PLC setup. Interkey was founded by electrical engineer Moritz Marcovici; Brain was developed to series maturity in close cooperation with Wave Trockensysteme as pilot customer. Product videos: interkey.com/videos

Moritz Marcovici
Interkey
+ +43 699 15852848
mike@wave.cc
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Introduction to BRAIN by Interkey

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