蘑菇短视频

As AI has expanded and improved, the fields of engineering and manufacturing have been revolutionized. Yet many manufacturers in the Western North Carolina region need guidance on where to integrate AI into their processes, the risk of protecting sensitive data, and what the return on investment will be. 

That is where Abdallah Abdallah in 蘑菇短视频鈥檚 Department of Electrical Engineering comes in. 

He recently received a $1.5 million grant from the University of North Carolina System as part of the Research Opportunities Initiative. ROI grants are funded by the North Carolina state legislature to support economic development in the state. Abdallah's research in advanced manufacturing will bolster the state's economic development initiative and prepare students for careers in a field whose future their research will help shape. This is the first time 蘑菇短视频 has received one of the prestigious ROI grants

This grant builds on previous research. Last year Abdallah was awarded a $35,000 Undergraduate Research Program Award in which students programmed robotic arms using AI techniques to act as quality monitoring tools on assembly lines. 

By partnering with local manufacturers to help meet their specific needs, the grant expands the concept behind these student-led projects into a university-wide research venture. AI models have the ability to improve automation, monitoring processes, quality control, or even develop customized models for manufacturers' specific needs. 

AI models can also be used to identify maintenance needs in manufacturing equipment before failures occur. Sensors that monitor vibration and temperature collect data that help schedule maintenance and repairs. The exact direction of the project will be determined by the needs of the industry partners. Once they share their biggest obstacles with Abdallah, the project team will set to work creating specialized solutions through a new framework that leverages an advanced AI architecture known as federated learning.   

The team is made up of five engineering professors from 蘑菇短视频, each of whom offers a unique area of expertise that contributes to a different component of the project. Islam Elgarhy is co-leading the design, implementation, and evaluation of the algorithms that allow AI agents to learn from industry data while maintaining privacy and security. 

Basel Alsayyed's background in industry will guide the manufacturing process and the creation of "digital twins." A digital twin is a multi-dimensional model that can be updated in real-time using data collected by the federated learning framework. These can be models of a factory floor, a single production process, or an individual object. 

Bora Karayaka expertise in power systems will help optimize the AI agents and the digital twin models in terms of energy consumption and reliability.  Dr. Mona Torabi's experience will provide insight into how these digital twins can be applied to additive manufacturing, a sort of industrial grade 3-D printing. 

In addition to the core team at 蘑菇短视频, a strongly connected team from NC State University led by Ismail Guvenc will contribute to the design and implementation of the connectivity and distributed infrastructure of the federate learning framework.

The companies and organizations collaborating with the research team are diverse, offering different insights into various aspects of the advanced manufacturing industries. Southern Container Inc., a regional manufacturer, produces more than 35% of the plastic bottles for Coca Cola. Southern Container will provide production data as well as their manufacturing experience to help direct the research. 

Rhino Federated Computing is a Software as a Service (Saas) company that provides specialized Federated Learning services to customers around the world. They will provide a free license to their service, so the team can have access to the latest technology, typically reserved for companies within the industry. 

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers, a professional organization that brings together manufacturing engineers, manufacturers, and government officials, is supporting the project as well. Through its wide reach, SME will ensure the research will be informed by and serve the most pressing manufacturing problems.

The work done by the project team will then shape the direction of graduate student theses, undergraduate summer research projects, and capstone teams. 鈥淭he students are not just helping with the research. They are doing it,鈥� Abdallah said. The project will also support and mentor two postdoctoral researchers, helping strengthen the academic workforce by preparing future faculty members and research professionals.

鈥淢y goal is for 蘑菇短视频 to become the place regional manufacturers call when they want to explore AI but are not sure where to begin,鈥� Abdallah said. 鈥淭hey want qualified and trusted partners to walk that path with them.鈥�