Issue link: https://industrialengineer.epubxp.com/i/777540
February 2017 | ISE Magazine 13 Researchers and analysts from The Pennsylvania State University, Case Western Reserve University, the GE Global Research Center and Microsoft are working on a $1.5 million collabora- tive research project to develop a cloud- based wireless sensing and prognostic system for monitoring machinery health conditions that can detect early signs of wear, aging and fault conditions. The Digital Manufacturing and De- sign Innovation Institute (DMDII) is providing half the funding while the other entities are matching that amount through a cost-sharing agreement. "The emergence of cloud computing, machine learning and the IoT technolo- gies makes it possible for a machine to function as an agent that is capable of intelligent behaviors, such as automatic fault and failure detection, self-diagnosis and proactive maintenance scheduling," said Dazhong Wu, senior research as- sociate in the Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manu- facturing Engineering (IME) at Penn State. The project, "Cloud-Enabled Ma- chines with Data-Driven Intelligence," began Feb. 1 and will be funded by DMDII for 18 months. "I cannot overstate how delighted I am about this project," said Janis Ter- penny, head of IME at Penn State. "This initiative brings together researchers and practitioners from manufacturing and software industries in collaboration with leading university researchers." In order to demonstrate the cloud- based manufacturing systems with data- driven intelligence, both legacy ma- chines and general-purpose computer numeric control machines will be used as test cases. "The overall goal of this research is to establish a generic framework for real- time process monitoring, diagnosis and prognosis for smart manufacturing us- ing cloud computing and big data ana- lytics," Wu said. "The outcome of this project has the potential to enable manufacturers to implement artificial intelligence into manufacturing machines." The cloud will check your machinery now Researchers to begin $1.5 million project for manufacturing industry © 2015 Scott Adams. Used by permission of UNIVERSAL UCLICK. All rights reserved. Dilbert The Factory for Advanced Manufacturing Education is a 10,000-square-foot integrated high-bay laboratory for teaching and research housed within Penn State's Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering. Photo by Pamela Krewson Wertz