Intelligent Sensing & Manufacturing
In the Intelligent Sensing Lab at UMass Amherst, inspection and pattern-recognition technologies for researchers seamlessly combine artificial intelligence (AI) and sensor technologies to improve real-time monitoring in manufacturing systems and human health.
For lab director Xian Du, assistant professor of mechanical and industrial engineering, real-time sensing and diagnosis are critical. “If we have a health problem, we want it identified in real-time for quick intervention,” he says. “Similarly, spotting quality control issues in a manufacturing line early on helps reduce downtime and avoid potential complications.”
The Intelligent Sensing Lab has a major project underway on the manufacturing side of its research, in the form of a National Science Foundation grant focused on improving the inline metrology and quality control of printing of flexible electronics on an industry scale, such as those used for wearable medical devices.
These electronics will be printed using roll-to- roll (R2R) processing, a precision fabrication method in which materials are manufactured on a roll of material, like a large spool. Instead of producing items one at a time, R2R occurs continuously. This process enables increased efficiency and lower costs than traditional batch-to-batch fabrication methods, which is why it is popular in electronics, batteries, textiles, solar panels, and more.
It is, however, a delicate process that requires exceptionally careful monitoring at the micro and nano scales. Du explains, “My research focuses on the scale-up of R2R manufacturing processes from lab to industry, which requires high-precision, in-line quality control.”
Why did Du choose to come to UMass Amherst to do this work? Because “UMass Amherst has the best R2R printing facility for me to perform scale-up research,” he says.
UMass Amherst is a global leader in R2R manufacturing, thanks in part to the presence of the R2R Fabrication and Processing facility. Located in the Life Science Laboratories, the R2R facility offers a unique set of tools for the translation of advanced materials to industrial platforms.
The facility supports diverse UMass research initiatives and collaborates with industry partners. One faculty group has used the facility to develop a vibration-monitoring sensor for early prediction of pump failures in petrochemical plants. And one company has used it to develop silicon chips that can be embedded in paper documents for security and anti-counterfeiting purposes.
The Intelligent Sensing Lab employs a variety of cutting-edge approaches to achieve its translational goals. According to Du: “We invent intelligent sensing techniques and build roll-to-roll machines. Our work involves developing AI and multimode sensing techniques to extract machine intelligence in roll-to-roll processes for quality control.”
One of the challenges in intelligent sensing is working within the limits of the bandwidth of the sensors, plus accounting for the computation time of the computer, says Du. “If you need real-time monitoring, you have to make sure the sensing, data transportation, and data processing is real-time,” he explains. “It’s really challenging, but people need it.”
