INESC Porto helps SME to develop industrial equipment
The Manufacturing Systems Engineering Unit (UESP) of INESC Porto has recently concluded the KoBaS project - Knowledge Based Customized Services for Traditional Manufacturing Sectors Provided by a Network of High Tech SME.
14th September 2007
This integrated project, for SME, had its main objective to revolutionize today’s practice in the development and usage of industrial equipment by using new technogical tools.
The final goal was successfully achieved and it consisted of giving productive equipment manufacturers access to a wide range of new technological solutions that can be installed in each equipment, making them more “intelligent” and customized to the needs of each client (concerning, for example, maintenance, usage, production management production, among others).
From the contribution of INESC Porto we give special emphasis to the development of the conditioned maintenance, which aimed at improving the availability and reliability of the equipment by monitoring regularly the machine’s status, predicting and diagnosing errors.
This solution can be seen as an integrated system based on sensorial elements, process and signal interpretation algorithms and procedures to help make decisions.
The combining of standard technology for data acquisition with Neuronal Networks processes for the prediction function, in the opinion of the project pilots, has allowed the development of a maintenance innovative solution with a high performance and a low computational level.
There were involved 21 partners from several European countries in this European project: universities, research institutions, technological companies and final users.
The project ended in late May 2007, and on May 23rd there was a public session for companies and industrial associates to disclose results.
This session entitled “New knowledge-based technologies for the improvement of the competitiveness of industrial companies” took place in Milan where the project’s objectives/purposes and the case-studies of its results were presented.
The results of this project will be disclosed by a network formed by companies and R&D entities of which INESC Porto is a part of.
The team from INESC Porto involved in this project was constituted by Américo Azevedo, Paula Silva, Ivo Relvas and João Cardoso.
BIP July 2007