Mankind is making the first steps towards artificial intelligence, or AI if you like. Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and their colleagues from France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom have developed a new software language that will make computers take into consideration the consequences of their commands.

The language, ISO 18629, is designed to allow the computers in the manufacturing business to have a more complex notion of the commands given by the operators.

Here's an example provided by NIST:

If a person who hears the commands "paint it, before shipping it" and "turn on the coolant, before milling" understands that the word "before" has slightly different meanings in these two different contexts. In the first command, it is understood that painting and drying must be completed prior to the next action, shipping. In the second command, however, the first action, turning on the coolant, continues after the milling starts. ISO 18629 supports computer systems with this type of rudimentary understanding of context-specific language.

NIST experts say the ISO 18629 language is especially suited for the exchange of process planning, validation, production scheduling and control information for guiding manufacturing processes. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which already has approved six sections of the fledging standard, is currently reviewing the last of its three sections. Once the expected ISO approval is given, software vendors will begin building a variety of manufacturing systems that conform to ISO 18629.