Intelligent Sensors for AI Manufacturing

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is playing an increasingly significant role in modern manufacturing because it can improve reliability, safety, efficiency, and productivity at reasonable cost.

An essential step in transforming every facet of effective manufacturing is developing and deploying innovative intelligent sensors is as sensors are critical in collecting analytical data during manufacturing.

Intelligent sensors with embedded computing capability, combined with innovative AI algorithms, are being developed for condition monitoring and predictive maintenance. These comprehensive solutions process and analyze the collected sensor data to develop AI-based models that can assess and diagnose the health condition of manufacturing equipment and take the appropriate steps to prevent potential safety issues and equipment failures.

Complex manufacturing operations demand comprehensive algorithms and building these requires data from multiple sensors. As the number of sensors deployed to collect this data increases, so does the need for fast and efficient data processing. “At the edge” processing speeds analysis and reduces latency risk for this sensor data. The latency in transmitting sensor data can cause major problems in sensor data synchronization that is often necessary for reliable outcomes from an AI model.

To overcome these challenges and to extend the operation time of sensor nodes, embedding AI capabilities in the silicon die of the sensor is proving to be very effective. Moreover, this innovative approach addresses some drawbacks of cloud computing. The Embedded AI approach uses tiny sensors with intelligent computing power that can simultaneously run multiple algorithms and process sensor data with minimal communication to the external processor. Instead, the sensor lets the processor sleep until appropriate results are available in the sensor’s data memory. Then, the sensor notifies the external microcontroller of the available data that can be transmitted for use in target use cases.

This presentation highlights the fundamental role the latest intelligent sensors can play in state-of-the-art AI manufacturing and provide checklists for selecting the right sensors for various industrial applications.