In an interview with TimesTech, M.R. Subramanya, Vice President at Siemens Technology and Services, delves into the evolving role of real-time embedded systems and India’s growing contribution to global innovation. He highlights Siemens’ shift toward AI-first R&D, sustainable smart factories, and digitalized manufacturing, while sharing how Indian talent is driving breakthroughs in industrial digitalization, cloud architecture, and intelligent automation under the company’s global innovation roadmap.
Read the full interview here:
TimesTech: With your extensive experience across embedded systems, sensors, and automotive domains, how do you see the role of real-time embedded technologies evolving in the era of digital transformation and AI-driven automation?
Subramanya: In the digital era, real-time embedded systems are no longer isolated controllers – they’re the smart, connected core of modern automation forming the bridge between physical machines and digital intelligence. Their role is evolving to support the increasing demands for intelligence, efficiency and sustainability in response to AI-driven automation.
While they have been deployed for a while now, they will play an increasingly important role in sectors like automotive and industrial IoT. Vehicles are becoming software-defined and rely on advanced sensors and zonal architectures, for powering advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), autonomous vehicles, and in-vehicle infotainment systems.
Real-time embedded controllers will also seamlessly interact with AI-driven perception systems, enabling vehicles to maintain strict safety and timing constraints. Similarly, in industrial automation, real-time embedded platforms are merging with AI-powered predictive maintenance and adaptive control algorithms, allowing machines to self-optimize while ensuring that the reaction time is not delayed.
TimesTech: Siemens Technology and Services Pvt. Ltd. has seen impressive growth under Mr. Pankaj Vyas’ leadership. How has this expansion influenced the company’s R&D priorities and innovation roadmap, especially in industrial digitalization?
Subramanya: Under Mr. Pankaj Vyas’s leadership, Siemens Technology and Services has evolved from a cost-optimization center to a global innovation hub. This expansion has directly influenced our R&D priorities by shifting the focus from support-based roles to ownership of core innovation in industrial digitalization.
We have reoriented our R&D strategy to prioritize AI-first industrial automation, predictive maintenance, and sustainable smart factory technologies—key pillars of a digitalized industry. Our innovation roadmap, aligned with Siemens Xcelerator, includes development of software-defined automation, digital twin platforms for energy optimization, cloud-enabled industrial automation solutions, and domain-specific AI models for predictive analytics in industrial applications.
We’ve also institutionalized Communities of Experts in AI, edge computing, and systems engineering to fast-track ideation to prototyping. Today, India contributes significantly in Siemens’ global product development, collaborating across our worldwide R&D network with a clearly defined roadmap for digitalized infrastructure, mobility, and manufacturing, all aligned with Siemens’ sustainability goals and industrial metaverse initiatives.
TimesTech: As someone adept in bridging engineering performance gaps, what strategies or frameworks do you follow to ensure alignment between research outcomes and business objectives in complex manufacturing environments?
Subramanya: To ensure alignment between research outcomes and business objectives in complex manufacturing environments, we begin by working with stakeholders to identify specific operational challenges like downtime or quality issues, and then define measurable targets such as uptime, energy efficiency or yield improvement. This ensures our R&D efforts address business priorities from the start.
We also embed product managers and systems architects within technical teams from the early stages, while engineers receive training to understand the customer’s business beyond just the technology. This dual approach forms the foundation for bridging the gap between research and business needs.
We then build upon this foundation with tools like digital twins, which allow us to simulate maintenance scenarios and process adjustments in virtual environments before implementation. The methodology incorporates agile stage-gate reviews with strict KPI benchmarks and continuous feedback loops between R&D and production teams.
This combination of targeted problem-solving, cross-functional integration, and data-driven validation delivers innovations that work both in theory and in practice, allowing us to achieve seamless alignment through the entire process.
TimesTech: Given the increasing importance of capability centers in shaping global engineering outcomes, what role do you envision for Indian talent in driving next-gen innovation at Siemens Technology and Services Pvt. Ltd.?
Subramanya: India has one of the best talent pools globally, especially in the technology domain. This talent is central to our vision of driving next-generation innovation at Siemens Technology and Services. As we become a strategic hub for high-impact domains such as data engineering, GenAI, cloud architecture, and cybersecurity, the Indian engineering talent base is demonstrating remarkable leadership. They will help drive innovation across three key areas: digital transformation, sustainability, and intelligent automation.
Our teams in India are strategically positioned to accelerate the convergence of information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT), developing solutions that bridge real and digital worlds. Their expertise in areas like digital twins, industrial IoT, and AI-driven applications is resulting in breakthrough solutions in smart grids, sustainable manufacturing, and predictive maintenance systems.
The combination of deep domain knowledge and technical expertise, understanding of complex industrial challenges, and the ability to scale solutions, making this talent crucial to Siemens’ transformation journey. Looking ahead, I anticipate this talent pool to provide some of the best and brightest leaders in the global technology arena, playing a pivotal role in shaping Siemens’ evolution as a technology-driven innovation leader in industrial digitalization, building technology with purpose.
