As Doritos, Walkers and Wotsits speed along a conveyor belt at Coventry's PepsiCo factory - where some of the UK's most popular crisps are made - the noise of whirring machinery is almost deafening. But here, it's not just human workers trying to hear signs of machine failure above the factory fray. Sensors attached to equipment are also listening out for indications of hardware faults, having been trained to recognise sounds of weary machines that risk bringing production lines to a grinding halt. PepsiCo is deploying these sensors, created by tech firm Augury and powered by artificial intelligence (AI), across its factories following a successful US trial. From early design to delivery, AI is seen as having a key role in a new wave of manufacturing. Its ability to process and analyse huge volumes of data is already helping manufacturers predict and prepare for potential disruption.