Intelligent Metrics for Factory Equipment

I am a software engineer. And one of the products I have built is used in factories around the world. One thing that all of the factories have in common is machines. Lots and lots of expensive machines. Now this is a great thing for the factories, but with these machines comes not only the understood maintenance. But also the high cost of repairs. Machines in various climates break down from various causes. I propose to help identify the root causes of machine malfunction in an intelligent way. Looking at temperature, humidity, and various other external stimuli and build a big picture. Look at trends of what machine breaks, what the sensor data read, and what was broken. This multiplied over every like machine in the factory equals valuable data that can be used to find those patterns of machine wear caused by external sources. Then once an external source is identified, the factory can implement measures to correct that issue. Thus saving the company lots of money from repair cost and extending the life of the machine. We can also couple the ambient sound sensor and the gyro sensor (vibration detection) with this to help alert of machine malfunction prior to it becoming a bigger issue. Using ML (AI Studio) to identify what the machine should operate like under normal conditions, and raising flags when the sound/vibrations change. And hopefully preventing large repair bills with some timely normal maintenance. The AVNET SMARTEDGE AGILE Edge Sensor provides all the sensors and capabilities to handle this needed task with ease. All data will be sent to the cloud for processing and reporting. Leaving the company workers free to worry about other things.

The benefits of adding this sensor would be the following:

1) Prevent larger machine breakages by alerting to possible issues before they break.

2) Identify trends with malfunctioning equipment to aid in identifying possible external causes for system failures.

3) Using the data to better improve operating environments to allow for longer lifespan of equipment.

4) Reducing repair cost by providing the data needed to remove external causes of failure.

5) Reducing machine down time and increasing productivity.

6) Freeing company staff from having to watch equipment so rigorously and allowing that time to be spent on more productive tasks.

7) Saving money and increasing profits.

8) Low up front cost, minimal monthly cost for cloud services

So all in all this is a win win for companies.

I will be building the core of this project using my 3D printer as my machine to monitor. I will have the sensor alert me of clogs based on sound. Finished/starting print based on sound and vibration. Temp monitoring, etc.

This project could fall under any of the 3 categories:

* Best Use of AI at the Edge (using AI Studio)

* Best Use Case For Real Life Practical Application (Since I will build it using my 3D Printer, it could be applied to 3D printers across the board)

* Best Use Case For Industrial IoT (Focus on Industrial Equipment)